Number Eleven
by Michi Shojo
Summary: Number Eleven was a puppet, brought to life with a reanimation jutsu. And Chiyo gave her a reason for existing, befriend Sasori. She exists to serve him, but he leaves her. Will she overcome the obstacles that have torn them apart? And even when she finds him, can she keep them together as everything shatters? In her heart she understands, sometimes friendship isn't enough. SasoXOC
1. Prologue

Prologue

The sand village was dark, the clouds blotted out the moon and the stars, casting deep black shadows everywhere. The only light was a small twinkling from lights in the sand village. Coming from the houses and buildings. One of the buildings was the puppet core, made to use and learn everything about puppets. Chiyo was the leader of the core and was preparing for another experiment.

Her assistant Kagura was helping her, this was the eleventh attempt, and they both hoped it would work this time. They were attempting to create new life inside of a puppet. Using a reanimation jutsu to breathe life into the puppets' still body. The only downside was that it would require a large amount of chakra, and would most likely take the life of the person using it. Kagura and Chiyo were the only ones who knew this jutsu, and it was decided that Kagura would be the one to give her life, if it worked.

The other ten attempts before, they had come close, but there was never enough chakra to do it fully, and the longer they spent on the body, the more tired it would get. They had gotten through two bodies already, first a girl, who had lasted four attempts before falling apart, then a boy, who had lasted the other six attempts. But Chiyo wanted a new body to try it on now, so she had made this one.

The third body, the eleventh attempt, was a girl. She had long flowing brown hair, and Chiyo had crafted her eyes, and made them blue, though they were closed now. Her wooden body was laid on a table, with no clothes, just a wrapping of bandages across her chest and upper legs. The puppet wasn't overly tall or short, she was an average size. There was nothing remarkable about her, if it hadn't been for her wooden body then you'd think she was just an ordinary girl.

Kagura took a deep breath and placed her hands on the puppet's shoulders, and prepared for another try. The past ten times Kagura had come close to death, but she never had enough chakra to get past the final boundary, so she would collapse, weak and helpless. The puppet hadn't lived, so she hadn't died. This time was going to be different though, Chiyo was going to help, with their chakras combined there would surely be enough to bring this puppet to life.

Chiyo looked over at Kagura "Ready?" She asked. Kagura nodded,

"Ready." Then she began. Her hands glowed with a green energy, her chakra, and she directed it into the puppet. Kagura felt it fill the body of the puppet, flowing through it like a bloodstream. She started with the area's closest, the shoulders, the worked her way down the arms, then she began on the chest. Filling it with her own life force, Then she felt something warm on her hand, she looked over and saw Lady Chiyo's hands on her own. Chiyo opened up her chakra to Kagura and there was a sudden surge, Kagura was able to go quicker, strengthening the puppet with chakra. She went all the way down the legs to the toes. Just one part left now.

Kagura was sweating from the effort, and holding her body up was a task now, she was growing weaker as the puppet got stronger. But she focused on the body, drawing her chakra, and her life force, up towards the head. The energy swirled around inside the wooden head, and Kagura put everything she had into it. This was the moment it had always failed before, she would collapse before she could finish. But this time, with Chiyo's power added to her own, she was able to keep at it, until finally her legs gave way. She fell to the floor, her eyes rapidly darkening.

"Chiyo…Did it…Work?" The last word was just a sigh, and her vision blacked out, her body had passed its limit. She had died.


	2. A Puppet

Chapter One

New Life

A rush of feelings, I can hear a rushing sound, somehow I know it is the wind blowing, but I've never heard the wind. I can also hear a voice, an old frail voice, I wonder who it belongs to. I try to move, to sit up, but something holds me down. I struggle a little, but I can't get free. A small voice whispers,

'_Where am I? Who am I?' _

But I can not answer, I don't know the answers. I wonder what I'm doing here, how did I get here?

'_Help me…'_

Then I hear the old voice again, I think it is speaking to me.

"Open your eyes, girl. Open your eyes."

I'm confused, my eyes? How can I open them? Then, as if someone else has done it, the world goes light, and I can see colours. I am lying face up on a table, held down with cuffs on my ankles and wrists. I am in a small room, littered with wooden objects, I know almost instantly that they are puppets. Then I see the woman, she has greying hair held up in a bun, she is old, I know that.

'_But who is she?' _The voice asks again. I decide to try and ask… to try and talk. I open my mouh, it feels weird. "Wh..who…are… y.. ?" The words come out shaky, I still need to learn to talk.

The old lady gives a small smile. "Some call me Lady Chiyo, others just call me Chiyo. You can call me whatever you like." I blink twice, the movements feel out of place. Then I try to speak again, "An…and what..is…my…nu…na…name?"

The words come a little easier this time. The lady, Chiyo, replies.

"Ah, Well, you are a puppet, brought to life by me. You are my eleventh attempt at it, so I shall call you Number Eleven, or Suji Irebun."

I think about that, and try out the words, "Su…ji. Ire…bun."

Chiyo nods, "Good, you will probably get better at talking as you get used to your body."

I can't think of anything to say that is worth the effort of talking, but then something occurs to me. "If…I was…cre...a…ted…by…you…" It isn't worth the struggle, so I sum it up and say, "Why?" Chiyo stays quiet for a second.

"There is no why, I wanted to see if it would work and if you would come to life."

'_Worthless…' _The voice inside of me says, I ignore it and say, with less effort, the words are coming easier. "But…I need. A reason…to exist…Or I may As well…be…dead."

Chiyo sighs and shakes her head, "Very well…I have a grandson, he is fourteen years old, so he looks your age. I… I think he might be lonely. I would like you to become his friend. Just so he has someone to talk to. His name is Sasori and he likes puppets."

I feel more comfortable now that I have a reason to live, I respond,

"Yes…I can…do..th..that." Chiyo smiles,

"First, take a day to get used to your body. I don't want him to know what you are. You must act like a true human. Learn about human emotions, learn how to talk and move correctly."

I nod, a little stiffly, "Yes…Lady…Chiyo."

"And one more thing." She says, then walks to a cupboard, pulls out a bundle of cloth and hands it to me, "Get changed." I look down at the bandages wrapped across my body. "Yes." I say. She uncuffs my wrists and ankles, then helps me get dressed, my fingers feel strange and are too stiff to manipulate the material. When I am finished I look into a mirror, my long brown hair falls down my shoulders and my eyes are blue. I am dressed in a long dress, down past my knees, with long billowing sleeves. There is a cloth around my waist and a thin rope for a belt, I put on blue sandals. The whole outfit hides my ball joints, so I look like a normal girl. The layers of yellows and oranges covering me make me look so bright. The only way you could tell I was a puppet is by looking at my neck, where a thin line shows where my head is connevted to my body, and feeling my skin.

My skin has turned from a brown wooden colour to a normal shade of flesh. But it still feels like wood. I pull on a pair of fingerless gloves to help, but that's about all I can do, and I have no body temperature, just cold wood. Not much I can do about that, I just have to make sure not to touch Sasori, or let him touch me. I wonder what he looks like.

_I'll soon find out _ The inner voice says.

I stare into the mirror, and tighten my belt.

_Lets go then._

And I turn and walk out, following Lady Chiyo.


	3. Learning

Chapter Two

A Puppet's Body

I've been alive for just over five days now. Lady Chiyo has taught me a lot in those three days, the first day was spent on movement and talking, as well as emotions and facial expressions. I can now speak in full sentences and only struggle when there is a long or complex word. The second day was spent on me learning basic knowledge of the five great nations, how ninja ranking and missions worked, basic three man squads, and stuff like that. The third day, Lady Chiyo took me out into the village, it was quite big so I had to stick close, but after a few hours I knew the basic layout. The fourth and fifth days have been my favourite though, I learnt to fight. Lady Chiyo explained about Chakra control, And different jutsu, but I can't do them. She said this was probably because I am all wood, so I possess little Chakra. I can do minor things like walk on water, and climb a tree without my hands, things like that.

To make up for this, Lady Chiyo gave me two knives. I can hold one in each hand and use them as a weapon, and she even said my skills developed a lot quicker than normal. Most likely because my body doesn't tire or get hurt. I don't need sleep either, or food and water. I can drink fluids, but I can't feel them and they do nothing for me. At night I sit in the window of my room. Chiyo set me up a bedroom here in the puppet core, because I can't go home with her. When darkness falls I sit in the window and watch the streets below, trying to map out the different paths I can see. Learning my way around the village without needing to go down.

The next day, the sixth day of my life, Chiyo walks in and says to me.

"Suji, It's time for you to start." I get up off the bed and walk over to her, I am taller than her by about a head. She continues on, "My grandson is the one with the red hair and the brown eyes. You'll know it's him when you see him."

I nod, "Yes, Lady Chiyo. And do you know where he is? I don't pa…ticu…lerly want to trawl round he village for hours and not find him."

Chiyo smiled, "Oh the boy will be down at the teahouse near the North Gate, he often sits there and designs new puppets." I try out a smile, I think it looks ok, "Of course. I shall go now." Then I walk out of the room, past Lady Chiyo, I walk down the corridoors and hear Chiyo say after me, "But he Can't find out what you are. You will not tell him." I continue walking, silently. Without an answer.

I turn left after leaving the building. I'm heading up north, towards the gate. Hopefully I will find Sasori without too much effort. I walk through the streets, today I am wearing another long, layered dress. I have to dress like this to hide my joints, I also wear a pair of fingerless gloves to conceal my wooden fingers. I should be sweating, out in the desert dressed like this, but I don't feel anything, and my body can't produce sweat or grease anyway. Though I do take a shower every few days to wash myself of the dust and sand that clings to me, but I have to make sure to dry myself properly or I could rot. Lady Chiyo says she will teach me about making puppets so I could repair myself if I ever needed to.

I keep walking, I do draw to occasional curious stare from some people, a young girl who they haven't seen before walking through the streets does seem a bit strange I guess. I ignore them and keep walking, I walk down the middle of the street, so I have a clear view of all around me. I just want to find Sasori straight away, not go looking for him and end up lost. Chiyo warned me that conversations with other people should be kept to a minimum, so I avoid making eye contact with anybody. I can see the main gate now, looming in front of me, I quicken my pace slightly, eager to get there. Now I am in front, there are a few small shops here, mostly aimed for people visiting or leaving the village. Supplies for travelling, a store that seems to sell everything, Knives, Wood, Matches, and clothes. All things really. There is also a teahouse, I scan the surrounding area, looking for red hair and brown eyes…

There! Sitting by himself, at a small table for two in the corner, outside in the sun, is Sasori. He is leaning slightly over the table, a pencil in hand, and is drawing something onto a sheet of paper. A cup of something steaming is next to him on the table, some sort of drink. Though it looks untouched. His red hair is messy, yet gleams like fire when the sun touches it. He is wearing a simple red and black jacket, and dark brown trousers. There is a bandage wrapped around his left hand and he wears black shoes. I check myself in a shop window, straightening my clothes and smoothing down my hair to make myself look presentable. Then I walk over to him.

_Here goes nothing…_


	4. Meeting Sasori

Chapter Three

Meeting Sasori

I Walk over to him, when I am a few paces away, I wonder if I should say hi and sit down or stand near him until he notices me…

He seems to decide for me, as he hears me coming and looks up. Whoa… For a boy, he's beautiful. I know that's not what you call boys, but that's what he is nonetheless. He has a soft rounded face with pale skin, and wide brown eyes that make me feel like he could see right through me. He raises his eyebrows and gives me a look as if to say, 'What do you want?'. I try out a smile, it feels a little strange but I think it looks ok.

I wonder what to say, but then I find the words coming out by themselves,

"Are you Sasori?" His eyes widen a little, as if he is surprised. Then, after a little hesitation,

"It's rude to ask someone's name without giving your own."

_Damn!_ I scream inside, _I made a mistake already._

I force a small laugh, and say "Sorry. My name is Suji Irebun." He smirks a little, "You're named Number Eleven? What's that about." I pause, I can't tell him the real reason…

"My parents wanted a baby girl, it took ten boys before me for them to get their wish." I came up with that on the spot, not the most believable lie, but not unbelievable either.

"Ah" He nods, "Well, yes. My name is Sasori."

I mirror the smirk he gave me a moment ago, "You're named Scorpion? What's that about?"

His smirk drops, "I don't know. My parents called me it. And I like it actually."

Something in his voice sounds strange… I sit down across from him.

I look across at him, there… His voice, it sounds sad. I look into his eyes, they have a depth of sadness too. I decide not to ask though. He catches me looking, and for a long few seconds we stare at eachother. I don't feel uncomfortable, I can't feel anything, But Sasori looks a little uneasy and looks away. "Did you want something?" I hesitate,

_What should I say?_

I look down at the paper in front of him, "What are you drawing?"

His hand automatically moves to cover the page, then it sweeps back and shows me. He picks up the paper and rotates it, Puppet designs.

"So you're into puppets?" I ask.

He shrugs, "I find them interesting, I like to make them, a clever design of a puppet is a lot better than a human ninja."

I tilt my head to the side a little, displaying interest, "Why are they?"

He seems surprised I care, then says "A puppet doesn't get tired or hurt, and they are easily repaired and made." He seems like there is more he could say, but not to me. Not yet. I smile, "I'm interested in them too."

_That's not a lie_

"I'm curious to learn more, and maybe even make my own in the future. And I heard you were good with puppets, so could you explain more? Please."

He seems to be battling with himself, there is a silence before he sighs and says,

"No."

I make my mouth drop a little, making myself look disappointed, I look back at Sasori. He winks, the movement seems alien on his face, and it doesn't hide the sadness in his eyes. He then grins, "I can do better than that, I can show you."

_I've got it. Keep this up and I'll be his friend in no time._

I smile again, "That's great!" He stands up, folding up the paper and placing it inside a pocket. "Come on then." Then he starts walking off, towards the main gate, the village's exit.

"Huh? Where are we going?" He turns and looks at me, then smirks again,

"My Workshop." Then he's off again. I follow him, staying a step behind all the way as we go through the long passage, with huge towering cliffs on either side. We come to the end, he turns right and walks along the edge of the cliff there. I can't see anything, but I follow him anyway. A little way along, he pushes on the rock and it swings in, he walks in without looking back. I stare at the rock and see, there is a door cleverly disguised to look like part of the rock face, the room in there is dark, but a pale light flickers after a moment. And Sasori's voice drifts out, in a calm lull,

"Are you coming in or not?"

I smile, "Yeah, sure I am, Sasori."

And I step in.


	5. The Workshop

Chapter Four

Sasori's Workshop

I step in. Into a room the size of an average bedroom. I look around and see a few puppets hanging from the walls, most are unfinished. Some take the forms of humans, others look like animals, others are just strange creations. There is a desk nearby with a lot of wood piled up next to it, on the desk is a vast assortment of things. Half-finished limbs and other body parts of puppets, all made of wood. A box of ball joints, in different sizes, tools used to carve and chisel and craft wood, to make a puppet. There are also a few worn sketchbooks; one that is open shows a design of a puppet, I assume it is one of Sasori's drawings. This place is nice, everything here has a purpose and a reason for belonging, there is no unnecessary clutter or mess. There is also another door, leading further into the cliff.

Sasori sits at the desk, and opens up a draw. I watch as he pulls out a small puppet, no larger than a doll. Then he leans down and places it on the floor. He smiles a little and moves his fingers, thin blue lines come off from his fingertips and are attached to the small puppets body. As he moves the fingers, the puppet moves as well. I decide to grin.

"Wow, that's awesome." Sasori doesn't say anything, just makes his puppet stand in front of me. I look down and see the puppet bow to me. I manufacture a little laugh,

"That's clever. You're good at this." Sasori finally smiles at me.

"Yeah, I've been practicing since I was young."

"Who taught you?" I ask, watching as he moves the tiny puppet around the room, "Was it your parents?" He freezes, and the blue lines disappear, the puppet falls to the floor, clattering on the floor as gravity drags it down. He stands up, his face straight, the sadness in his expression apparent. He walks over to the puppet, picks it up and carries it back to the draw, not looking at me. I think he might be trying not to cry.

_No…What did I say?_

He takes a deep breath and turns to me, "My parents are dead. I learnt to use puppets after they had gone, when my grandma taught me how to use them."

I bow my head, trying to look sorry.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know."

He walks over and places a hand on my shoulder, "It's… alright. You weren't expected to know."

_Can't let him touch me…_

I step back a little too quickly to get his hand off of me, I don't think he felt the wood beneath my clothes though. I give a small bow,

"Thank you for showing me this much. I'm gr… grateful."

He looks a little taken aback by my speech, my mispronunciation of grateful. But I can't help it. He smiles and nods,

"We haven't gotten to the good part yet." Then he walks over to the other door in this place, and pulls it open. He goes in and switches on a light, I follow him.

Inside are puppets, so many puppets… The few closest to the door are finished, perfected works of art that resemble humans, animals and traps all cleverly designed out of wood. Further back I can see unfinished puppets, a torso with no limbs, a strangely assembled thing with six arms, or legs, with a large head. Each puppet is different in some way, some look like they were made in a few hours, Sasori just rushed them in frustration or something. But a few are different, they are so lifelike. I see a puppet that looks like a young boy, the puppet looks so real that the only thing that gives him away is the wooden skin. I fabricate a smile and walk between the rows of puppets, turning my head this way and that, looking at row after row of the puppets.

"Did you make all of these?" I ask, looking back at Sasori. He nods at me "Yeah, I made every single one. This is the product of six years hard work." I make a quick calculation, "So you've been making these since you were eight years old?"

He smiles, "Since I was eight years old, and I was younger when my grandma taught me how to control puppets." I create a smile and go back to looking at the puppets, it is strange to think that I was once one of these, without thought, not even capable of movement. But somehow I was lucky enough and Chiyo chose to bring me to life. I wonder if it had been another body, instead of mine, would this concuss still be existing? Tailored for whatever body it inhabits? Or would it be something different, with another way of thinking? I can only guess.

Sasori breaks my train of thought, he walks over to me, "Did you still want to learn about puppets? I could teach you… if you wanted, that is." I look over at him, and he looks away hurriedly, is that a small blush on his cheeks?

_Is he embarrassed? _

I smile and nod, "Of course, that would be great. I'd love to."

He smiles, "Ok. It's getting late now, maybe you should go home now. We can meet tomorrow and I'll start teaching you about puppets. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, I can do that. Where should we meet?"

He hesitates and thinks about it, then says "I'll wait at the teahouse where we met today until noon. Meet me there, or if it is after noon then come right here. That's where I'll be."

I grin, "Great. I'll see you then." Then I walk to the door, "Are you leaving now? We could walk back together?" I think he is going to agree, but then he shakes his head,

"I'm going to stay here a while longer, and work on my puppets."

"Oh." I try to look disappointed, "That's a shame. See you tomorrow."

He turns to a nearby puppet, and begins to tinker with it's limbs, "See you." He says hollowly, already absorbed in his work.

I let myself out, it has already gotten dark outside. I set off back towards the main gate, looking up at the stars in the sky.

_My first day with Sasori…_

I shrug to myself,

_It could have been worse._


	6. Puppet

Chapter Six

Puppets

_And time passes…_

It has been a few weeks since I first met Sasori, in that time I have learnt a lot more. First Sasori taught me about controlling puppets, how to use chakra strings to move a puppet in whichever way I want. I can easily control one puppet with one hand now, though Sasori says the best puppeteers can control ten puppets at once, one on each finger. I hope to be able to do that one day, then I would be a great puppeteer. He also taught me how chakra threads can be attached to other objects, or also people to control them. Though people usually have the strength to fight back so I'd need to subdue them somehow before. After A little over a week of this, he starting showing me how to make puppets, It started off with fashioning single limbs. Then it progressed, apparently I picked up the skill very quickly, I started making full puppets.

The first one I made looked like a normal man, but a couple of the joints were in the wrong way, so the limbs operated stiffly before coming apart. The puppet collapsed stupidly onto the ground as I stood watching it. Sasori laughed at that, and said my blank stare made me look confused. Priceless.

It feels good to see him laugh, it makes me feel that I am becoming more of his friend.

_Like I have to be._

The puppet after that was better, it was shaped after a cat. The body with four legs was a little strange to operate at first and I needed both hands to make it move. But after a bit of practice I could move it more fluidly, and only needed one hand. Now I make a new puppet rarely, and mostly help design and build the puppets Sasori makes. They are a lot better than mine, they have purpose in their design and are full of weapons and traps. Ideal killing machines. There is a puppet for every purpose here, some for fighting, some for defense. And even some for temporary prisons for holding a captured enemy.

I have also started to make a few puppets back at home, to kill time throughout the night. I bought my own set of tools to build them and got right to it. I have made an array of small puppets, useless models to practice control with. Chiyo saw me doing this and is proud of me, she says I am really trying my best to connect with Sasori. She helps me out and teaches me a little, just so I get the best education.

Now I am walking through the streets, once again trying to map out the streets and alleyways. I know my way around most of it, but I am still trying to find my way around the smaller roads and shops. Just in case. After an hour of this, I think I have done enough today, so I walk back home. To the puppet core.

_If it can really be called a home._

I climb the stairs, and almost bump into Sasori on his way down. He looks at me in a confused way, then smiles,

"What are you doing here, Suji?"

I pause,

_I can't tell him the real reason…_

_What do I do?!_

"I could ask you the same thing." I say, and form a smirk to buy time.

"I'm here to help out with making puppets. They all think I'm very good at it here and often ask me to come along." I nod, then come up with a good enough idea for me being here, "That's cool. I was here to look for inspiration for new puppets. I'm not exactly very original."

"Ohhh…" He says, "That's a good idea."

I smile, "I know."

Then he says "I've been meaning to ask you something, Suji."

I tilt my head to the side, "What is it?"

"Will you… That is, if you wanted… Would you fight with me?"

I cross my arms against my chest, "That's all you want? A fight?"

He nods, "I want to see if you're learning. I want you to make a puppet and then we fight against eachother to test your skills."

I make a show of considering it, then say "Sure. I'm up for that."

He looks relieved in a way, and smiles at me "So, how about in a weeks time? That should give us both time to build a new puppet and train more."

"Yeah." I agree, "A week is fine with me."

He turns to walk out, "Meet me at the training grounds one week from now at noon. Don't be late, I hate to be kept waiting."

I clear my face and walk the other way, "'I'll be there."

I spend all of the next day designing a puppet, in the end I have one finished idea and dozens of scrapped paper with different designs on. I decide to build a puppet shaped like a normal person, armed with a dagger in each hand. There are a series of hidden compartments stocked with kunai, shuriken and senbon inside. Nothing too fancy, just a few weapons. I fashion it like a girl my age, give her sparkling green eyes and long purple hair. She wears a dark red vest top and dark green trousers and boots.

I then spend the next few days building her. I load kunai into compartments in her wrist that can be opened and the kunai falls to it's hand. The senbon fit into a special chamber inside the fingers, they fly out with a flick of the wrist. And shuriken in a simple pouch. Then I make a belt with a foot long knife in each side, and strap it round the waist of the puppet. I finish it two days before the fight with Sasori, and I am pleased with my efforts.

In the remaining time left I practice moving it, by the evening before the fight I can make it do anything I want, though it is sometimes a little slow, so may not be great in battle.

_But I did it._

The thought would make me smile, if I could.


	7. Failure!

Chapter Seven

Failure!

On the morning of the fight, I practice endlessly. My puppet can do most of what I want with relative ease, I think. An hour before noon, I climb into a warm bath to wash the dust and dirt away from my body and hair, then I dry myself thoroughly and put on a long dress to hide my joints. Sweeping my drying hair behind my shoulders, I use a jutsu to capture my puppet in a scroll to make it a lot easier to carry. I place it into a concealed pocket and then walk out of my room. The corridors of the puppet core are bustling with activity, as usual. People rushing to and fro, so wrapped up in their lives they don't notice me, day after day. Before I can leave someone steps out and crashes into me,

"Watch where you're going." I say, and push past.

"Suji?" The voice says, I turn and there is Chiyo, she was the one who ran into me. I let out a sigh, "Yes, Lady Chiyo?" She takes her time with dusting herself down, then says "Where are you off to in such a rush?"

I hesitate, "I'm going to meet Sasori. Where else would I possibly be going?"

She smiles, a knowing and almost evil smile, like an alligator would give a fish before killing it, "Good. Because that is all you are good for. Just stay with Sasori, don't get any other ideas about your fate." I create a frown,

"Is something the matter Lady Chiyo?"

"Girl, drop those fake expressions around me. It makes me sick to know you don't mean it. That you don't care." I let my face drop to a blank stare

"I am sorry, Lady Chiyo."

She turns away, "Good Puppet." And then she walks away from me. I can't help realizing that she didn't answer any of my questions, she just talked at me and expected me to obey. And I did, without question.

My gaze drifts to a clock, hanging forlornly from the wall. I check the time.

_Shit! I'm late!_

I hurry outside, and set off at a jog towards the training grounds, they are to the south of the city, an area sectioned off for ninja to use. Luckily the puppet core is fairly central so it isn't too far…

I quicken my pace and start running, I don't want to be that late. I tear through the streets, ignoring the people around me. For some reason I am driven by a desire to get there as quick as possible.

I arrive and look around. Being a puppet has its advantages, I'm not even out of breath. Over to my left, there is a small stream flowing through into a cluster of trees. But most of the training ground is an open desert, perfect for one on one battles. That is where I see Sasori, standing in the middle of the desert with his arms folded across his chest, an impatient look on his face. I walk over to him

"You're late." He says, shaking his head, his red hair swaying back and forth with the motion, before I can respond he says, "I don't like to be kept waiting."

I hang my head a little, "Sorry Sasori. I got a little held up."

He sighs, ""It doesn't matter… I forgive you. So, shall we begin?"

I forge a smile and nod, "Yeah, lets do it." He leaps back and pulls out a scroll, making a hand sign he summons a puppet, crafted like a man with a long katana in his hand. As well as a various array of knives strapped to a belt. I copy what Sasori did and my puppet appears, her purple hair billowing out behind her. I see Sasori smile a little at her, and there is a silence, both of us waiting. A breeze blows past and for a few moments, everybodys hair and clothes move the same way in the air. And clouds of dust and leaves rise and get swept past, once it is over Sasori grins and moves his hands.

His puppet races towards me. No, that's not right… It races towards my puppet. I react slowly and just have enough time to bring my puppets knives up to block the attack. Then I make my move, I bring my puppet's arm towards Sasori's puppet, slicing at the wood with the knife in her hand. He easily parries my blow and brings the blade of the Katana straight down into the wooden arm of my puppet.

That is when it all starts to go wrong.

The force of the blow doesn't just split the wood, the whole arm shatters. Useless bits of wood rain down to the ground, as chunks of the wood crumble.

_Dammit!_

I pull back my puppet, but Sasori is relentless, the puppet follows mine and leaps at it, the katana outstretched. Then the blade glides past my puppet's body. Sasori, he must have missed…somehow.

Then I see that isn't the case, I'm not that lucky. The puppet is coming straight at me, I step back and raise my arms to shield myself, cutting off the chakra threads of my puppet in the process. The blade keeps coming and stops suddenly in front of my face, lightly tapping my throat. I am staring at the puppet's face, wide black eyes inside a sharp face.

"Yeah, you got me." I say, raising my hands in surrender. "Now put that down before you hurt someone." The puppet falls backwards and crashes to the floor. And I see Sasori slowly making his way over to me, he stops in front of me and blinks twice, in a stupid way. Then he leans over and starts laughing, an uncontrollable giggle that escalates into a true laugh, tears of joy form at his eyes and his cheeks turn red.

"What's so funny?!" I ask, he stops, then starts off laughing again. I stand impatiently for him to finish, eventually he calms down, and says quietly, "I haven't even laughed like this in front of Grandmother…" Then he smiles, "You're what's funny! You're hopeless at this." He chuckles, "I don't think you're the puppet type…"

_Not the puppet type? That's ironic. _

I decide to agree with him, I grin and make a giggle, closing my eyes and raising a hand to my mouth to simulate joy, "Yeah, I don't think I'm made for the puppet master jutsu."

"Definitely not." He says, shaking his head. "Though it did brighten up my day." He winks at me, and I smile back.

"At least I did something…"

Then he takes a deep breath and says, "On a more serious note, maybe you should try fighting another way."

"How do you think?" I question, "I've never properly trained. Never even gone to the academy. I'm not even a genin. And you're a jounin level… What could I possibly do?"

He smiles, "You don't have to have a headband to be a good Ninja, look at me. I don't wear mine." I look him up and down and see he is right, I can't see his headband.

"You're right. But that doesn't answer how I am going to fight."

He turns, "Come with me. I'll show you."

So I follow him. As I should.

_That was… a complete failure._


	8. Success

Chapter Eight

Success

I follow Sasori and wonder where he is taking me that could help my fighting skills. He stops suddenly and looks at something on the ground, it's my puppet. He crouches next to it and says "A good design, just not very well made." I stop beside him, "Thanks. I think…" Then he starts inspecting it, poking and prodding it, more splinters of wood get lost and fall to the ground as Sasori works out the puppet. He finds all of the hidden chambers with their weapons in, and his eyebrows rise slightly.

"I don't see how this will help me." I say, breaking the rough silence. He sighs, "You're impatient."

"And you're one to talk." I retort. He gives a soft laugh and stands up, he's holding something which he holds out to me.

"Here." I look into his hands and I can see the two knives I gave my puppet

"What about them?" But I take them anyway, the weight of them feels good in my hands.

"Your new weapon. Try those." He explains, I swing my arms back and forth, testing the strength of the weapons. I nod at him,

"Ok, I'm ready for a rematch now."

He grins, "I knew you'd say that." Then I leap back so there is a twenty or so foot gap between us. He pulls back his puppet and holds it at the ready,

"One…Two…Three…"

"GO!"

I run right at the puppet this time, weaving between the blade of the katana and pushing it back to block it when I get a chance. This carries on for a minute or so, then I finally begin to read it's attack patterns, the blade makes a large sweep to the right, and I know it will be headed my way in a mere second or two, so I leap right up in the air. The blade soars beneath my feet. I grin, and move my legs so I land right on top of the puppet. The force of it pushes the puppet into the dust, the Katana swings round madly with no real aim to it. I construct a laugh and then ready my knives, I survey the puppet and then push the metal of the knives into the puppet's weak spot, the joints between the limbs.

I begin to twist the knife and watch as the joint cracks, chunks of wood are dislodged and finally I give a sharp tug and the arm pops free of the body. I quickly move on to the next arm, the one holding the Katana. I methodically work through a pattern, Did the knife in, twist, dig, twist, dig, twist… Then the arm comes lose. The now useless sword falls to the floor and I crouch down on top of the struggling puppet, then I surge chakra down my legs, all the way to my feet. Then I leap forward at Sasori, out of the corner of my eye I can see the puppet pulled up and it starts coming towards me. Even an armless puppet could still do damage, and I don't know what kind of traps Sasori hid inside of it. I soar through the air, until I am a few feet away from Sasori, then I dig my heels into the ground and make it look like I am stopping, the puppet slows to avoid crashing into us both and then I make my move.

I pivot round and smash my left hand with one of the knives, into the side of the puppet. The sheer force of the blow snaps it across the side and sends it crashing away where it lands a few feet from me, split in the middle but still holding together. Just. I waste no time and keep spinning so I am faceing back towards Sasori. I narrow my eyes and smirk, lifting my right hand and placing the tip of the knife into the hollow of his neck.

"Checkmate."

He raises his hands and smiles,

"Very good." And begins clapping, slowly, almost sarcastically.

"But you broke my puppet." He continues.

"And you broke my puppet too. Now we're even." I say with a fake cheery smile. He sighs and touches the bridge of his nose, slightly covering one eye.

"It's more of a loss to me though."

"Whatever, Sasori Senpai." I say, taking the blade away and turning back to my own puppet.

"Senpai?" He questions, I can feel his grin from here. I look over my shoulder and sure enough, he has a cocky lopsided grin on his face. I roll my eyes,

"You're my teacher… and better than me at this. That makes you a senpai. Ok?" He thinks about that,

"Yeah, good enough reason. I like that… Sasori Senpai." He tries it out a few more times, smiling the whole way through.

I walk over to my puppet and brush strands of hair out of her face, then I pick it up and hold it in my arms.

"What are you going to do with that?" Sasori asks, his voice quite close. I turn and see him just behind me, cradling his puppet in a similar way. I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know. What would you do?"

"I'd try and fix it first, but that one and mine are a bit far gone… So I'll end up surveying the damage, working out how to make it stronger for next time. Then get rid of it and start again… Probably burn it." I nod,

"Ok. Let's burn them then."

We make a fire out of the puppet's two bodies and some logs and branches we find on the dry desert floor. Then we set them alight and watch the smoke spiral into the sky. I look over at Sasori, his face is illuminated in the soft flickering light and his red hair makes him look like he is aflame himself. He notices me staring,

"Yeah?" I look away,

"Nothing... I just noticed how the bonfire makes you look like you're on fire yourself." He smiles down at me and I notice…

_Damn, he's taller than me._

"And I just noticed how the moon and starlight makes you look like part of the sky, the heavens above." I look up and true enough, day has suddenly turned into night and the stars shine above our heads, filling the skies with a bizarre celestial map. Or a story. The full moon burns like it's own kind of fire and casts silver light down onto the clear desert. Then I look back down at the fire and the ground and listen to the roar of flames as they engulf my hard work.

_I could stay like this forever._

What feels like seconds later, but must be longer, Sasori yawns slightly,

"I'm tired Suji… I'm going to go now. Did you want me to walk you home?"

My mind races.

_He can't know where I live!_

"No thanks." I say, trying to keep calm and bite back panic, "I live on the other side of the village."

"It's no trouble." He says in a calmed voice, looking into my eyes. I begin to feel uncomfortable, I shift my gaze, "It's my family… They're strict. They don't want me to be with boys. I'm sorry." It's a pathetic excuse I know, but it seems to work. Sasori's face drops, "Oh. Never mind then. I've got meetings to attend to at the puppet core tomorrow… I'll see you the day after tomorrow, if you're ok with that?"

I nod, "Meetings?"

He grins, "I'm the best puppeteer in the village. They often want me to go over there and help them out."

"Oh…That's cool." I say, then I bow and turn away, "See you tomorrow Sasori Senpai."

"See you tomorrow, Suji."

And I walk home.


	9. A Request

Chapter Nine

A Request

Days and sleepless nights begin to fly by, I learn more about using the knives and they are now my permanent weapon. I wear a leather belt with one knife in, either side of me, close to my hands. I practice using them during the night and during the day I balance my time between working with Sasori and going to the academy to take a few lessons on fighting in my spare time. I have also shown Chiyo how good I am but she simply replied…

"Heh… Very good. I see you've dropped the art of puppetry for a few basic knives. But if it works for you then I guess it is ok." For some reason I don't think she likes me, but there isn't much I can do about that. She hardly ever visits anymore, she just comes by every week or so to ask how I am getting along with Sasori. And my response is always the same,

"He likes me, and though I am a mere puppet who cannot feel emotion, I think I would like him back if I could." And it is true, I feel that if my body were human and I had a heart, I could call us 'Best Friends'. But I also feel something more for Sasori, not an emotion, a desire. Something draws me to him, as though there is an invisible thread between us that brings us together. I feel like I would lay my life down for Sasori again and again, I would take hell in the place of him. I told Chiyo and she said "You were created to protect him. Of course you feel like that. Make sure you don't confuse it with human emotions like 'friendship' or 'love'. You may have the body of a person but you have the soul of something completely different."

I bowed stiffly to that and walked out, I really don't think she likes me…

It is now night and I am practicing dodging attacks against invisible enemies in my room, Even though my body can't get hurt it can still get smashed to pieces so I must work on dodging attacks. Then there is a knock at my door, I cross my arms and sheath my knives.

"Come in." The door opens and Lady Chiyo walks in, I smile give her a fake smile,

"Can I help you with something?" She gives me the evil eye, then sighs.

"Tomorrow night. There's a festival on." I tilt my head to one side,

"What has that got to do with me?"

She fidgets a little, then says to me, "I want you to go with Sasori. I think it would be good for him to be out there with someone he likes."

"Oh…" I say, "I'll do it then, I don't have anything better to do." She smiles, a brief smile that quickly disappears. Then she turns away,

"Thank you, Suji." She walks outside without another word.

"You're welcome Lady Chiyo." I say to nobody, she has already gone.

Later on that day I am in Sasori's workshop watching him build a new puppet.

"Do you ever get bored of doing that day after day?" I ask him, he continues fixing the joint into an arm,

"It's a hobby. I don't get bored."

"Oh." I say, I need to find a moment to ask him to go with me to the festival.

"Is there something you want to say Suji?" he says, "You've been quieter than you usually are. Is something up?" I hesitate, I don't know how to put the words into a sentence, as a result the sentence comes out sounding nervous, "Will you… Come with me. To the festival? Tomorrow night." He turns to look at me, he is smiling.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No!" I answer a little too quickly, "I wanted to go… And you're my friend. Please?"

He thinks about it, "I wouldn't normally go…"

"but?" I say,

He grins, "If you've asked me to go then I can't turn it down." I make a smile and gush out the words, "Thank you."

"No problem." He says, "Now help me with this puppet."

"Of course." I respond, pulling up a chair and getting to work. I hold one of the arms still while he puts it together, and I make the other arm under his guidance.

By the end of the day there is a rough shape of a puppet hanging from the ceiling. Sasori walks round it, inspecting it's every joint and part,

"It's good so far. Tomorrow we can just add the details and weapons to the body, and we should be done. Afterwards we can go to that festival."

I smile, "That would be great Sasori Senpai. I can't wait." He smiles and walks to the door, "Come on then. Let's go."

"Yeah." I say, Then I walk out of the open door, Sasori walks out after me and locks the door on his way out. Then we are standing outside in the desert, with a brilliant view of the sunset. I stare and stare at it, it is beautiful. The sky is streaked with pinks, oranges, yellows and lilac shades. And the heart of it all is a large red sun, it lights up the desert and casts orange light over everything.

"Have you never seen a sunset before? You look very interested." Sasori says, I look over at him, "I've never seen a sunset like that before. It's nice."

"Yeah..." He says, staring into it. I smile and continue, "Even in a world filled with war, like this one. It is nice to know there is beauty up there, that no shadow can touch."

He looks right over at me, into my eyes, "But I think some things are beautiful. Even though they do exist on this world." I decide to ask,

"Like what?" He pauses, I think he is deciding to tell me something, then he says,

"Puppets... I like them because of how they are built, and then they last forever. They never rot or fade away."

I consider this, "Maybe that is what you think. But I remember when I saw you the first time, I knew you were beautiful. It's not what you call men I know. But it is what you are." He blushes a little, his cheeks darkening. Then he turns, "I think you are beautiful too." he says quietly, then he starts walking away. I don't think now would be a good time to answer, so I follow him soundlessly. Turning away to the puppet core when I get closer to it.

I arrive back in my room, and sit in the window sill.

_He called me beautiful... Why?_

I ponder over what he said all night,

_Did he mean anything by it?_

Probably not, we were just discussing beauty and that came up, that's all. We didn't mean anything by it...

_I didn't anyway._


	10. Festival

Chapter Ten

Festival

I watch the sun come up, a pale yellow sphere in contrast to the firey glare yesterday. I pace across the room and go into my bathroom, I run myself a hot bath and lie there for the morning, staring at the celing. By noon I get out, my wooden body has softened slightly from the water, I towel myself dry and change into a white summer dress with short sleeves. It shows off my body, and therefore, my wooden joints. I know I can't wear it, it shows off too much, but the I have an idea. I root through the draws, and soon find what I am looking for. A few seconds later admire myself in a mirror, I am now wearing white tights and long Gloves past my elbows. The best thing is that it covers my joints completely and I look differant at the same time. I twirl and the dress billows out around me, I create a smile, I look more human than I have before. I decide to go out in the village and find Sasori, then we can go to the festival together.

I walk out, the sun is shining down brightly, but with little warmth and there is a small breeze floating through the village. I wonder where to go first, my feet take control and I end up at the teahouse where I first met Sasori. I sit outside of it and watch the world go by, birds fly between trees and happy couples pass. I don't know how long I stay there, but eventually Sasori walks over to me. He is dressed in a sand coloured shirt and brown jeans with black shoes. I smile at him, He looks a little shocked, then smiles back.

"You look good." He says to me,

"Thanks." I hold my smile, "I could say the same to you." Then I stand up and give a small bow to him, "Thank you... for coming with me. It's nice to have a friend." He gives me a nervous smile and awkwardly looks away, at the sky. "No problem..." He says quietly, then, "So, are you coming?" He half turns away. I nod "Sure!" Then we walk off, side by side, close together but not touching. We work our way through the streets and end up at the festival grounds, I stare up at it in wonder.

The way in is a pale stone path, sometimes cut by a tiny trickle of sparkling water flowing through the ground. There is deep green grass on either side, a rare sight in the desert. And growing through the grass, are tall cherry blossom trees. The pink blossoms shine in the light, and delicate petals float through the air. I stretch out my hand and catch one on my hand, I lift my hand and watch the wind take the petal away. The wind spirals it through the air and into the sky, I am intrigued by this all. I haven't seen anything like this before. Sasori walks in front of me,

"Are you coming then Suji?" I forge a smile,

"Yeah, i'm coming."

Then we walk into the park.

We wander between the trees and look at the stalls, there is all sorts of food for sale and items here to buy. We snake through the paths and look, occasionally stopping to stare at the stalls. There are all kinds of foods, like dango, sushi and a ramen stand. Sasori sees me looking at the food and says,

"Are you hungry? I can buy you something if you'd like." I am about to agree, but I can't, I don't eat.

"No thanks." I shake my head, "I'm not hungry."

"Alright then." He says, then he walks off "Come on."

I follow, and we stop in front of some entertainers, there is a fire juggler, he tosses large flaming torches up in the air and catches them with ease. I watch as he perfectly throws and catches the burning sticks. I create a smile to show happiness and then move on to whatever is next. I see two ninja doing a sword demonstraiton, a mock battle between the two of them as they effortlessly wield the heavy items. There is a young girl playing a violin beneath one tree, a sad yet beautiful melody that seems to move the hearts of everyone watching.

_Not my heart though..._

I watch these all afternoon with interest, and the afternoon melts into evening. Sasori has been by my side the entire time, taking everyhing in silently like me. I doubt we will ever be the talking type of people, always observing, but that's fine with me. So it surprises me when he says, "Come with me." And he beckons me over, I obiediently do as he says, following him as he walks away through the dark. He steps off of the path and winds his way between the trees. I duck and weave to keep up with him, after a few minutes we enter a clearing. There is a lake here, a large lake that glitters like crystal in the moonlight. Lilies that shine a pale silver float on the surface in clumps. I step to the edge of the lake, staring out over the water.

"It's amazing." I say. "So pretty." Sasori stands next to me,

"Yes. I often come here to be by myself." I smile at him, "That's great." And I sit on the side and dangle my feet over the surface over the water, watching the slight ripples spread across the surface of the water.

"This isn't even the good part yet." Sasori says,

"What, there's more?" I say, tilting my head to the side. He grins and points at the sky,

"Just keep looking up."

"What do you mean Sasori?" I say and look up at the sky, falling onto my back and lying on the grass. He sits next to me, legs crossed and hands in his lap.

We spend what seems eternity looking up at the sky, watching the bright stars twinkle. Then something suddenly shoots across the sky, leaving behind a trail of blue smoke. Then it explodes outwards in a shower of light, bursts of red highlighted by yellows and oranges that burn the sky like fire.

_Fireworks._

Then another shoots up, blue this time, with green hints to it. Many more are shot up into the air, purples, pinks, golds and many other colours explode into the night sky.

"It's so pretty." I say, looking up at the sky. Sasori sighs,

"It's a shame." I raise one of my eyebrows and look at him

"What's a shame?"

"Art is supposed to last forever, like my puppets. They never rot or fade. These fireworks are the exact opposite. They can't be pretty, because art is eternal."

I take this in, pondering over the meaning of these words.

"Maybe art doesn't have to be eternal." I say, in a small voice. Sasori looks over at me, a frown distorting his features. I continue, "I believe art only has to be accepted by it's creator... Even if it is the ugliest thing in the world, if the person who made it can accept it then it is true art. And something could be beautiful, but it's owner hates it, then it isn't true...Maybe." I shrug, wondering if I should have said that.

Sasori shakes his head, "You can think that, but I have my own train of thought to stay with. Art is eternal."

He stands up, "See you tomorrow, Suji." And he walks off without waiting for an answer. I watch him go, the fireworks above my head have stopped. I sigh.

_See you tomorrow._


	11. An Idea

Chapter Eleven

An Idea

The next morning, I lie in bed and watch the sun rise. Nothing special about it today, it's just the sun. I climb up out of bed and dress in my normal clothes, hide my joints and cover my skin. Then I put my belt on, with the knives on either side, I grab my ninja pouch that contains an assortment of tools inside, just in case I help Sasori build a puppet today. Then I turn around and walk outside, there is a stronger wind blowing through the village today that ruffles my hair and clothes. I ignore it and walk straight over the the village gate, I walk out and follow the lengh of the cliff for a few minutes, until I reach his workshop.

I let myself in, the door is unlocked and Sasori is already there, bent over his desk drawing something.

"What are you doing Sasori Senpai?" I say, he doesn't even glance at me, just says,

"Trying to figure this out, Suji." I sit down next to him,

"Figure what out?" He looks at me then, sighs and says,

"A puppet masters weakness is themselves, if someone gets close to them then it's all over. I'm trying to think of a way to cancel that out." Then he tenses his grip on the pencil in his hand, applying pressure as he thinks. I notice he seems a little frustrated today,

_Not much I can do about that._

"How about..." I start, then trail off. I don't have any ideas, I need to think. After a minute or so of thinking, it hits me,

"What about using the puppet as a shield?"

He stares at me, "How would that work?" He says shortly. I take the pencil from him and put it to the paper, I begin to draw a tortoise like puppet with space beneath the shell.

"How about... You make a puppet big enough to sit in, and control it from the inside. That way you can attack and defend easily." I smile at him,

"Simple, right?" I see his eyes widen, and his lips part slightly.

"Yes." He says quietly, "That would work well." He grins, "Thanks! That helps a lot."

I nod, "Great. I hoped it would." He turns around and analyzes the collection of wood he has,

"How would I make a shell...?" He mutters to himself, sweeping his gaze over the wood. I watch him as he decides, and he says,

"This won't do. I need something else." He stands up and walks over to the door.

"Come on Suji." I rise without question and follow him as we leave the room together.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll see." He says, "Come on."

A short while later we are standing in front of a large oak tree in the park,

"Here we go." He says, I look at him,

"We're gonna cut this down?"

"Yep."

"But, Sasori Senpai, Is that allowed?" He looks over at me and smirks,

"Scared?"

"No! I just don't want you getting into trouble." He shrugs at this,

"I'm allowed to cut down trees nobody wants or needs, and this is just some old tree. Nothing special." I mirror his shrug,

"Go ahead then. I'm not stopping you." He nods and pulls out a scroll, releasing the puppet within. It turns out to be two puppets, a woman and a man with joined hands. Sasori quietly controls them and thier hands stretch apart, with several thin wires strung between them, them they are sent towards the tree and the wires cut through them like a wire cheese cutter going through a block of swiss.

The great tree crashes to the ground and I dodge out of the way of it to avoid being hit. I wonder if my body was made out of simple wood like this, taken straight from a felled tree, or if it was the everyday wood you can get at a store...

"Suji, A little help here." It's an order, not a question. I look and see Sasori already beginning to carve out a shape on the trunk, sketching out the outline of the shell and then proceeding to chisel some wood away. I stand on the other side of the tree and copy the shape of the shell, whittling away the wooden frame.

By the end of the day we have a dome carved out of the bark, night is beginning to fall and Sasori shivers. Finally, he says, "It's getting dark now. We should go home and finish this tomorrow." I nod,

"So I'll meet you here tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. That's fine."

I smile at him, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow Sasori Senpai." I turn and walk away, and hear him quietly say

"You did well." I keep walking, deciding he didn't mean for me to hear if he said it that quietly. I walk through the darkening streets and into the puppet core as the map of stars hangs above my head. I make my way to my room and sit on my bed, drawing my knees up to my chest and resting my head on them.

_The nights are so long._


	12. Hiruko And Human Puppets

Chapter Twelve

Hiruko And Human Puppets

The next day I get up early and dress myself in a black tank top and trousers, with a dark blue overcoat on top. I brush my hair into place and take my tools and weapons, then I step outside into the pale blue morning. I pace down the streets towards where me and Sasori started that new puppet yesterday, detirmined to finish that by the end of the day.

_I wonder how long I took to make..._

When I arrive, I can see Sasori already there, kneeling beside the giant shell which is now upside down. He is carving out the underside of it, making it look like an oversized shield. I say nothing and kneel beside him, taking out my own tools to use. He looks over at me, "You're up early." I nod and focus on the work,

"I had nothing better to do. So I decided to make an early start."

"That's good." He says, tapping at the wood and forming the shell. We spend the rest of the morning in silence, only occasionally broken by a few words between us, orders given to me by Sasori. By the afternoon, the shell is finished and smoothed down, It's still quite heavy but should work.

"Defences." Sasori says,

"What?" I respond,

"Wood isn't all that strong, we need something else to protect it."

"Oh..." I say, We debate the problem for a while between us and soon decide the best way to defend it would be to put some sort of metal coat on it, like chain mail. We then sort that out, taking plates of metal about the size of my hand and spreading them out along the back of the shell, it looks like a turtle shell now. This takes us a few hours and then we examine it together. The metal plates work but there are still small gaps where they don't join completely, that's all. We cover the shell in a blanket and pin it down to hide the rough edges of the body. Then we spend the rest of the day carving out the limbs and body parts for the rest of the puppet, loading them with all sorts of weapons and traps as we go. Some parts are even designed to come off if they have to and still be usable, It's really quite clever. By the end of the day, as the sun touches the ground and begins to withdraw, We have finished and stand staring at the puppet.

"What are we gonna call it?" I ask Sasori. He hesitates and creases his forehead,

"Hiruko." He says after a minute,

"Why?" Sasori shrugs,

"I just like the name, there's no paticular reason behind it."

"Ohh..." I say, and shrug my shoulders. "Sure. It's a good name."

He smiles, "It's getting late... I'll see you tomorrow then Suji?" I bow my head,

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow Sasori Senpai."

He walks away, I notice I have never seen him look back when he leaves, he always keeps going and looking forward. I wait for his back to disappear and then go back home, to my bed. Where I spend the night curled up with my eyes closed, trying to feign sleep for a while.

The next morning I rise late, take a long bath and calmly stroll out just before noon. Into the heat and dust of the day that stretches before me. I slowly make my way to Sasori's workshop and let myself in. He is already there, and immeadiatley I get the feeling something isn't right. Sasori seems troubled, confused even. I know I shouldn't, but I walk over to him and put a hand on his shoulder,

"Is everything alright Sasori Senpai?" He sighs and I can sense his dull mood.

"Suji... Have you ever heard of human puppets?" He asks quietly. I shake my head, I don't know what he means.

"No, I've never heard of them. What are they Sasori?" He explains softly,

"A human puppet is a human's corpse that has been made into a puppet. But what sets it apart from a normal puppet is that it retains all of it's Chakra and jutsu from before. It's a perfect fighter."

"Wow." I say. "That's cool, but why would you bring that up?" Sasori faces me, and says, "I want to figure out how to make them. Wouldn't it be amazing?" His eyes sparkle briefly and I feel as though he really wants this, more than anything else. I shrug at him, then catch the look in his eyes and smile weakly,

"I wouldn't know... But you have a point. Have you got any ideas how to make them?"

He groans softly,

"I don't know. That's the point. All I know is... It's a forbidden technique. It probably has something more sinister to it than shaping some wood."

"You're probably right." I agree, "So, do we try and find out how to make them? I'm sure we could do it if we looked long enough." Sasori pauses, his fingers drumming rythmatically on the desktop, eventually he shrugs.

"Yes, I do. I truly want to make these, I believe if we can master it together... We can be recognized in this village. As great puppeteers." He lifts his head, looking upwards "But that's just a dream of mine." I'm not sure what to say, but then something inside decides for me,

"We won't leave it as a dream. We will make it a reality. I promise to help you find out." I then find myself doing something even stranger, I wink at him, "I won't even ask for anything in return!" He looks a little bemused by what I said, then says slowly,

"Good... I'll leave you to it then." He gets up and walks outside, "See you tomorrow."

"See you..." I say, then think about what I had just said, that i'd help him create Human Puppets. I don't even know where to start!

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_


	13. Chiyo Knows

Chapter Thirteen

Chiyo Knows

As the sun rises the next day, I stretch out my body and loosen up my joints. Then I pull some clothes on and prepare to leave, but I am interrupted by the door opening and someone coiming in. It turns out to be Chiyo, patting her grey hair into place. A thought suddenly occurs to me,

_What if Chiyo knows about Human Puppets? _

_She is the leader of the puppet core, after all..._

"Good morning Lady Chiyo." I say, bowing and smiling at her, "Can I help you?" She looks over at me,

"I'm only here to see how well you are getting on with Sasori."

"Oh." I say, "Well... That's fine. We are good friends now, and work together a lot." I trail off, not knowing if I should say something about Human Puppets. Chiyo decides for me, and says, "An Unasked question is one of the most futile things in the world." I stare at her, It's like she knows I have something important to say. I cough awkwardly, then plough straight in,

"Do you know anything about Human Puppets?"

She looks at me in shock, then says, "How do you know about those? They're supposed to be a secret." She looks at me in an accusing way, I smile and say

"Sasori mentioned them when we were together last, He said... He wanted to learn how to make them. I said I would help him find out how to." Chiyo's eyes widen, and her breath seems to catch in her throat, then she does something totally unexpected, she slaps me.

Only across the cheek, I can't feel it but the force of it still sends my head to the side. I stare at her, meeting her eyes and not breaking her gaze.

"What was that for?"

Her hand is still in midair, hovering and shaking slightly. She draws it back to her side,

"Making them is a forbidden technique. They require ultimate sacrifice and aren't worth it." She stops as if that explanation is enough, I press on,

"What about your grandson's happiness? Is that worth it?" Her eyes flare and her hand raises again, but I am prepared this time and catch her wrist before it hits me. I stare long and hard nto her eyes, searching there for any weakness. She gapes at me, before pulling her wrist away,

"To make a human puppet... You kill someone. Take thier body... and make it into a puppet."

I nod, "Thank you, Lady Chiyo." Suddenly life floods into her and she grabs my shoulders,

"Promise me you won't try to make them! They're difficult to do, you could end up in trouble! And my grandson's hands stained with blood at his age..." Her face blanches, and I notice that her voice isn't commanding, or ordering, It is doing something else, It echoes with... Desperation. She is begging for this. I smile at her,

"Don't worry Chiyo. I wasn't planning on it. I promise not to go making them." Relief lights up her face and she smiles back.

"Good girl." She lets go of me and steps back, seeing no need to apologise. She turns and walks outside, leaving me behind. I shake my head.

_Just because I said I wouldn't make them... Doesn't mean I won't tell Sasori. And I know he's going to make them._

"Really? You kill someone and use thier body as a shell to make one?" I nod. I am standing in front of Sasori in his workshop, I just told him how to make human puppets and his face has lit up like a childs at christmas.

"Yes, Sasori Senpai. I went rifiling through some documents at the puppet core and found that out." I grin to myself,

"I'm awesome, right?"

"Amazing." He says, "I could just kiss you!" I stare at him, raising an eyebrow. He flinches,

"Maybe not..."

I nod, "Yeah, Maybe not."

"Anyway... We have to start soon. I can't wait." I sigh and move into his field of vision, meeting his gaze and holding it.

"Can you do this though Sasori Senpai? You would have to kill a few people... And we don't even know if it would work. Could you go on with that kind of blood on your hands? Kill mercilessly and then further disgrace a person, use thier body for your own means?"

He pauses, hesitation flickering across his face. I think he is weakening for a moment. That I overestimated him and he can't really manage to kill that many people. I wouldn't care, I can butcher humans without feeling anything. Though it helps that I'm not entirely human; But i'm not sure how far Sasori can go for his art. But then his face hardens and he mutters softly,

"Suji... I'm prepared. I can do it." I bow,

"Of course. I understand, Sasori Senpai."

_Heh, I knew he could do it._

He smiles, "So, who do we experiment on first?" He raises an eyebrow, "Care to volenteer?" I groan,

"No way Sasori Senpai." He laughs,

"I was kidding...Mostly. But seriously, who do we go for?" I think, then say,

"Well, If they retain thier Chakra then it should be someone that is worth doing it on. A ninja of some sort... And someone we don't really know. So Thier disappearance can't be traced back to us. And also so we don't get all emotional about killing and cutting them up. It's easier to do that to a person if you don't know them."

He nods in agreement, "That's a good point... Right, I have no preferences so let's go out and use the first random Ninja we see. Probably one on watch at the gate... Or a genin first. So we don't lose anything important." I can't really believe we are discussing this, the killing of an innocent. But it isn't my problem, and I don't care about it.

"Yeah. Use weaker people until we can make it work. That is less of a waste." He smiles,

"Good. Let's go then."


	14. The Murders

Chapter Fourteen

What A Waste Of Time

The next day; It doesn't work, we kill a young Genin under cover of darkness and take it back to the workshop the next day. Sasori paused as he looked into the innocent dead eyes of the child, and I thought he would quit, but he shook it off and carried on. We laid the body out and tried to fill it with the strongest Chakras we had, just to see what would happen. But the body dried out and became useless. We ended up burying it out in the desert, hidden. In a grave with no name. But we put a stone there as a headstone, carved out the words 'I'm Sorry' Onto the stone. Then using pebbles I made a copy of the sand symbol over the grave. At least the girl died with dignity.

Over the course of the week we try it on two more bodies, both young boys. Sasori tries to build a puppet as he send chakra running through thier veins, trying in vain to fuse them together. But it doesn't work. As I walk home one night I see a missing sign of the girl we killed first, her parents are pleading whoever has her to bring her back. I also see her name, Suji. That's the same as mine... It helps that I am a puppet, or I am sure I would start crying with guilt and shame. We bury the two boys next to Suji, and I carve her name onto the stone, so it now says 'I'm Sorry, Suji' It's probably the least we can do.

Over the next month Sasori thinks that maybe the Genin we tested on weren't strong enough to work with. We slaughter a Chunin and carry thier body back with us, Then try again, but sure enough, It doesn't work. The body becomes brittle and unfit to work with at all.

Over the next few months, The number of graves swells to Fourty Two. Fourty Two dead people, and nothing to show for it. And it is getting a lot harder to get new bodies, a permanant watch has been established around the peremiter of the Sand Village. Everyone tring to get through is questioned and if they arouse suspicion they are searched for weapons. Luckily Sasori only has to say he is going to his workshop, and they let him through. Sasori certainly commands a lot of respect among the fighters, 'Sasori Of The Red Sand' They call him, because his puppets dyed the sand red with the blood of attackers. And he only needs to say I am his assistant and I am let through with Sasori, followed by the occasional wolf whistle from the more cheery guards. I'm lucky I don't get embarressed, but Sasori always works up a flush.

We get our bodies now from travellers we see approaching the village or leaving it. We set small traps up so we know when someone is nearby and let them go if they don't posess chakra of any sort. We snare a further nine Genin, Four Chunin and even a Jounin who tried to help his Squad but got caught. Me and Sasori try out differant ways of making Human Puppets, but nothing works. I can see Sasori getting more frustrated with every passing day, he really needs this to work soon. The longer this takes, the more chance there is we will get caught. I notice a new look about him, the lonliness in his eyes has given away to an anger. His eyes are cold and seem to cut through you, but I stay by his side. Not out of loyalty, but because I was ordered.

The streets are now littered with Missing posters of the Fifty Plus people we have killed, and people go about nervously. Afraid they are next to be killed, but most of them are safe. We try to take people who won't be as easily missed as others, but the panic is still as big. Foolish weak hearted humans.

That night I walk into the puppet core, I think today was hard on Sasori. I don't think he slept well recently and is probably scared of being discovered. I can see it in his eyes and body movements. He is afraid. I walk down the corridoor to my room, and Chiyo is waiting for me in the hall.

"Suji." She says, I stop in front of her,

"Yes Lady Chiyo? Did you need something?" She sighs,

"I know what you've been up to." I let a troubled expression play across my face, and talk to her in a confused voice,

"I don't know what you mean." She folds her arms and looks me up and down.

"I know you've been making Human Puppets with Sasori. Or at least trying to." I fake an uneasy laugh,

"No, I haven't. What proof do you have to suggest that anyway?" Something inside her sparks,

"I know it was you! And Sasori hasn't been himself lately. I'm not too old to be messed about with." I realise she knows, and nothing will convince her we are innocent. I let my expression drop.

"Fine then. Yes, we have been trying to make human puppets. Me and Sasori." She looks long into my emotionless eyes,

"Why do you do it for him? It can't be because you care about him. You're just an emotionless thing that doesn't feel." I grit my teeth,

"That may be so. And it is right, I _don't _care about Sasori. I'm only doing it because of you. Because you asked me to become his friend. It's not like I have any feelings for him." She nods knowingly, and even smiles a little. A smile of contempt. I ask her, "What are you even going to do about it? Turn us in?" I smirk at her, "Betray your own grandson? Betray Sasori?" She returns my smirk and lifts her hand up,

"I'll leave that part to you." And she points behind me. I turn my back on her and look to where she is pointing, leaving myself open to attack. I see what she is pointing at, and it makes my body freeze.

_No..._

Before me, is a fifteen year old boy with wide brown eyes and hair the colour of fire. He is beautiful, and even though you don't call boys that, that is what he is. His mouth is slightly agape and his hands are by his side, shaking lightly. It is Sasori. Tears roll from his eyes silently and he stares at me with a pleading look.


	15. His Last Smile

Chapter Fifteen

His Last Smile

Sasori stands before me. And I know his face now will forever come back to haunt me, that look of utter despair as he fixes me in his gaze. The world slows around us, until he looks away, the world speeds up and he turns his back on me.

"You... Don't care about me." He says, softly.

Then he flees down the steps of the puppet core into the night. I stand there paralyzed with the deepest kind of shock which strikes my very core. I feel a hand on my shoulder, It is Lady Chiyo.

"I told him to meet me here, and even told him how to make Human Puppets, I wrote in on a note and said I would demonstrate when he got here. Then I set you up to say those things, so he would hate you. I have also informed Ninja about the disapearances and who is behind them. They are searching for him as we speak. He won't get away." Something in her voice causes something to stir within me, My fingers find the dagger around my waist and I swing it at her, opening a small cut across her cheek. Then I spin on my heels and run outside.

_I have to find him!_

I run through the night, wondering where to go. Then I have a thought, where would Sasori go if he needed to be alone?

_His Workshop..._

I change direction and hope I'm not too late...

After running nonstop for a short while I make it to the village gate. The Lookouts yell at me to stop and identify myself but I pay no attention, just keep running for the workshop. The desert blurs together and the wind whips around my body, tearing at my hair and clothes. But I make it to the workshop. I charge in and see Sasori there, leaning over his desk and sobbing quietly. But then he looks up and sees me, and his sorrow turns to rage.

"I...Trusted you!" He says loudly. "When you became my friend I thought we could always stay that way and be together! Bu you...Don't care about me. I heard you say it yourself." I stare at him,

"Sasori..." But I don't think words will get through to him easily now, and we are running out of time. Any moment the Ninja after us could come bursting throught the door, if they do that then it's all over. "We have to go. The Ninja know about what we have done and are looking for us. We have to get out of here." He stands up

"I trusted you once Suji. I won't make that mistake again." And he suddenly sends a puppet flying at me, I have no time to dodge and the bulk of the puppet knocks me over and onto the floor. I don't fight back, I don't want to hurt him. The puppet pins me down to the ground with it's large weight pressing down on top of me. I struggle to get free but I can't do it. Then the puppet gets off of me and I get up shakily, and Sasori gets closer. He is holding a kunai and backs me against a wall. He raises it up and puts the blade against my throat.

_Is he going try and kill me? _

But then his hand opens and the Kunai clatters noisily to the ground. He is crying again, silent tears make thier way to the open and roll down his cheeks.

"Remember..." He says, his voice wobbling, "Remember I could have killed you... But I didn't." He steps back and wipes his tears away, then smiles over at me, his face shining in the pale light with tears, but lit up by that one weak smile. Then he says, with his voice breaking,

"Because I _Love _You."

The sheer beauty of it makes my body go still for the second time in the space of an hour. He backs away and makes it out of the door, and I hear the lock click as I realise he has locked me inside. My body slides down the wall into a sitting position and my vision begins to waver.

I don't have emotions, but something else in me is making it's way to my heart. Or at least where my heart should be, my core of commands and judgements. In my own twisted, warped and broken way. I reply silently...

_I Love You Too._

Then colours blend together and I black out. My final thoughts are of Sasori's last smile, his last words to me. And the meaning behind them.


	16. Imprisonment

Chapter Sixteen

Imprisonment

Someone comes to the workshop later; I don't know how much longer later, time blured together once Sasori left. It could be minutes later, or even months for all I know. I am lying on the floor of the workshop staring off into empty space. I feel like I have lost a major part of me, like my body is broken beyond use. Sasori was the reason for my existance, but he's gone, and there is no more for me to live for. I've gone so numb, this must be like what happens when someone is in mourning for a loved one. I think I can understand how the families of the people I killed, they lost someone they cared about...

The door shakes on it's hinges, I turn my eyes and look at the door, not making a sound. After a few more hits against it it bursts open, a cold wind blowing in grains of sand from the desert behind it. Someone walks in, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to focus, but when they do, I can see that it is Lady Chiyo. She's found me. She walks over to me and says,

"He got away." A small measure of relief floods my body. I find the strengh to sit up,

"Good." I say curtly, "It's good he got away from you. You old hag." She smirks at me, and looks down with mock pity.

"But he left you. And you haven't got away from me." I stand up in front of her, determined to show pride and no hint of weakness in this situation,

"That doesn't matter. You can't hurt me, or even touch me." I turn my back on her, and start to walk for the door. I am halted by a sharp pulling feeling across my body, I look over my shoulder and see Chiyo, who has attached chakra threads to my body and stopping my movements. I sigh, "What do you want? I have stuff to do." She pulls me back a step,

"Where are you going child? You don't have anything left in this place."

"You're right. I _don't _have anything left in this place. I'm going to find Sasori." She shakes her head and tuts.

"I can't let you do that Suji."

"Why not?" I say, struggling against the threads that hold me.

"He hates you, I really don't think he will ever want to see you again." I fix her in my gaze and let my eyes flare,

"But you hate me too, I know it, So there's nothing to stay for. And I hate you, wheras I can put up with Sasori. That's why I have to go." She smiles and keeps tutting,

"Suji, did you ever wonder what you were?" I tense, slightly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it... You aren't human, but you aren't a puppet. You can't be a human puppet because that would mean you have to be controlled the whole time. You wouldn't be independant enough to think for yourself."

_That makes sense, I guess..._

I shrug my shoulders, "Ok then, What am I?" She laughs softly to herself,

"Something caught in between. You were made with a forbidden Jutsu which allows the user to breath life into a puppet. At the cost of thier own life of course." It takes a few moments for the message to sink in,

"The cost of thier life? But, You're alive... Then who?"

"Her name was Kagura. One of the best, and she died to create you." I relax my body, thinking,

_Kagura..._

"But what does this have to do with my leaving?" Chiyo smiles,

"Poor confused Suji. You have the body of someone older but you're as naive as a child, you obviously aren't used to this. You were made by a forbidden jutsu, and someone died making you..." I still don't understand, what is she getting at?

She sighs, "You're a rare specimen. And you're coming back to the puppet core with me. We could research and hopefully find out a lot about you. As much as we hate eachother, we need eachother." I pull back sharply and break the chakra threads, I snap at her, "Why the hell would I need you?"

"Because I need the information that we can aquire from you. And you need the purpose to exist." I step back, never taking my eyes from her, never dropping my guard,

"I have a reason to exist. I have Sasori." Then I step backward out of the door onto uneaven sand. I am about to run for it but I am suddenly caught by the chakra threads again. Chiyo shakes her head, and there is a warning tone to her voice,

"Suji, if you don't cooperate..."

"I won't!" I cut in, she looks over at me and sighs,

"Then this is the only thing I can do." And puts a hand into her pocket, drawing out a scroll which looks very much like the ones me and Sasori used to seal puppets in...

"You can't be allowed to roam free. If we can't have you, no one can." And she opens the scroll. I struggle but she holds me still, a mist clouds my vision and body, until everything goes black and I am trapped within the scroll.


	17. A Second Chance

Chapter Seventeen

A Second Chance

I can't see anymore, I can't move either. Being trapped in this scroll has stopped my vision and movements,

_But not my thoughts..._

I'm not sure how long I have been here, trapped like this. I have lost all passage of time in this timeless hole. Sometimes I drift in and out of conciousness; like being asleep. I get the feeling I have been here for a long time though, a good few weeks, or even months. I wonder if I will ever get out.

_Probably, if someone curious enough comes along then I'll probably get let out._

That thought stays with me, I hope I get out of here soon. The longer this takes then the harder it will be to pick up Sasori's trail and find him.

When I was first trapped, I did all I could to escape, I would roar mentally at whatever held me, determined that it was like being asleep, if I tryed hard enough I would get out. After a long long while of this, I realised it was pointless. I have fallen into submission, patiently waiting to be released. Chiyo will die sometime, I have all of eternity. I will get out. I often find myself thinking of the last time I saw Sasori, what was going through his head at that moment? Was he feeling betrayed? Alone? Angry? Will he ever want to see me again?

Those are the moments I hate the most, the doubt and thoughts that maybe Sasori doesn't want to see me again. Maybe I pushed him too far, and he hates me in return. But then I'll remember his last words to me,

_Because I Love You..._

The memory of those words is the only thing keeping me sane. If he meant that, truly meant it, then I could find him again and make everything right. I feel like thanking him too, those words drive me on. Without them I would have given up already, lost myself to the consuming madness. Suddenly I feel a change in the space around me.

It easily goes unoticed, but the air suddenly feels lighter than it was before and there feels like there is more space around me. Then I get a falling sensation, and I hit something hard. My vision clears a little, but it is like trying to see through a thick fog still, it is difficult. Then I realise i'm not in that enclosed space anymore.

_I'm free..._

But any hope and Ideas I began to build up, burst like a bubble. Someone must have released me. I lie on the floor, hoping that if I stay motionless then my vision will sharpen and I'll be able to escape...

"It's very well made. I'll give you that." There is a voice speaking close by, a deep voice that can only belong to a boy. I try to move but my body is stiff, and I am incapable of sound. I can only listen,

"Yeah, I knew there would be something cool in this scroll. Why else would it be hidden away?" There is another boys voice nearby, but a slightly differant tone, more enthusiastic than the other one. And a third voice speaks,

"Well, Chiyo did say this was a dangerous weapon. We shouldn't be doing this." This voice is a girls, and it sounds superior and commanding. My vision slowly begins to return and I can make out the three people, one boy with brown hair and dressed in black, a girl with blonde hair and a purple dress. The third person is shorter than the other two, dressed in basic brown shades, with deep red hair.

"Come on Temari, where's your sense of adventure?" The brown haired one says, and I now know that the girl is Temari, but who are the other two?

Temari retorts, "Adventure? It's a puppet. Nothing special." The red haired boy takes a step closer,

"Temari, Kankuro. Shut up. Let's just find out why this puppet is so dangerous and then go. This is a waste of time." So the brown haired boy, Kankuro, rolls me over onto my back and examines me.

"Other than the knives... And pouch of weapons. I can't see anything else. Maybe..." And then he reaches out towards me, I react suddenly and grab his wrist. I use the momentum to kneel and pivot round behind him twisting his arm around his back. But I am stopped suddenly by something...

"Let him go." I look down at myself, sand has wrapped around my body, and is pulling me back from Kankuro. I look back and see the red haired boy staring at me with a quiet rage. He is the one controlling the sand.

"You know, you couldn't hurt me if you tried, kid." I say, fixing him in my gaze. In response he tears me away and throws me to the floor with surprising force. He only looks eight or nine years old but has the presence and look of someone much older. The other two look a few years older than him, but more like kids. The sand releases me and I get to my feet, I don't want to fight them without a good reason.

"What are you?" He says, never flinching away from my gaze. I keep my eyes trained on him,

"My name is Suji Irebun." I bow, "I'm simply an innocent victim that ended up making some bad choices. I was sealed in the scroll as a punishment." The brown haired boy walks over to me shakily,

"But Lady Chiyo said you were just a puppet... What the hell are you really?" I shrug and meet this new boy's gaze. "I'm a puppet. I just developed a conciousness one day." Then a thought occurs to me, "How long was I sealed for? Do you have any idea?" Kankuro pauses, I think he wants to ask me more but he is wary of me.

"A long while, since before we were all born... Maybe fifteen years?"

_Fifteen years?! It only felt like a few months at most._

I nod, "I understand. I wish I could ask more but I really have to go. There's stuff I have to do, people to see." And I turn to step out of the door, when Kankuro says something else in an unsure voice,

"Like Sasori?" I turn to him and say slowly and dangerously,

"How do you know about him?" Then I step forward and grab his collar, "Tell me!" I feel the other boys sand tightening on me again, "Give it a rest, kid!" I yell at him.

"My name's Gaara. Not kid." He says, and strengthens the sand. I say,

"Fine, give it a rest Gaara." Then I step back, "Kankuro, what do you know about Sasori?" Kankuro shakes his head, "He was the best puppeteer in the village. He killed lots of people and disappeared fifteen years ago. His accomplice was a girl named Suji. But she was captured and no-one saw her after that..."

I stare at him but detect no lie in his voice. I say quietly,

"I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll try to find Sasori, maybe I won't. I just have to keep going. Keep moving forward, because there's nothing for me to go back to." He looks uncertain, but Gaara intervenes,

"We understand. Suji, run. We will keep you a secret from everyone for as long as we can to give you a headstart." I don't believe it, he would really let me go? he doesn't even know me. I simply smile at him and whisper, "Thank you, Gaara." Then I turn and flee, making it to the west gate without looking back. Then I sigh at the setting sun, and take my first step out of the village for fifteen years. I never look back, I'm never coming back here.

_Sasori... I'm coming to find you._


	18. Searching

Chapter Eighteen

Searching

At first, I was simply grateful to be free again after fifteen years. I walked in a straight line towards the sun, then wandered aimlessly to see where I ended up. I arrived soon after at at the mist village. A quiet little place, I stayed for a week.

It was then I began to realise the impossibility of what I set out to do. I didn't know where to look for Sasori, he could be anywhere. He would be middle aged by now, thirty years old. So he would look differant, maybe act differantly. Maybe he settled down and had a family? Maybe if I show up again then everything will be thrown into turmoil. These doubts often make me detirmined to give up and make some sort of life for myself.

But I heard someone one day, some strange old man talking to himself at he walked along,

"Everyone's gonna die. It's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose, then you're dead already." It wasn't apparent who he was talking to. But after one night of thinking it over I decided he was right. For my own selfish reasons of being wanted and having meaning, I will find Sasori. And I won't stop at anything.

Time passes and I settle into a routine. I wander round and when I end up at a village, I ask around and stay in the village for a while. I try to discreetly ask about Sasori, if they know anything about him. I make money by doing odd jobs and missions for people in the village I'm staying in. Like looking after the messanger birds and making sure the messages get to the right place, and helping out with training a squad of genin. Then when I get a small lead, or decide a village is useless to me, I'll leave shortly after and make my way to the next village. It has been Three years since I left the sand Village. Three years of pointlessly walking about, It feels like I'm trying to find a shadow in the dark. It simply isn't there. But I don't give up, over the years I keep myself presentable and clear minded. Taking each day as it comes, after all, I have eternity to plan.

I get out of bed after another long night, and step outside after a brief bath and a change of clothes. I still wear the long layered dresses to hide my joints and cover as much of my skin as possible. And also because even if Sasori has changed and I don't recognise him, I look the same and I can hope he recognises me. I am currently in the Hidden Leaf Village, I left the Rock Village a month ago when I decided Sasori wasn't there. I have been in the Hidden Leaf a little longer because it is quite big and takes time to explore thouroughly. I stare up at the dark green leaves of a nearby tree, and watch as the wind blows through them. One is shaken off and floats gently to the ground, right past my face. I blow it out of the way and then keep walking. I have searched most places now, so I will check the cliffside with the Hokage's faces on, just in case. Then I will make my way back, looking around as I go. I decide if I don't get anything good today then I'll leave soon.

A good lead is hard to come by. A few people have heard of Sasori, he is in the bingo book as an S-Ranked criminal. And he also has a listed partner who is, 'presumed dead' Who helped him on his way to becoming a killer. I usually hear rumours, about how Sasori's helper faked her death so she could sneak out of the village after he left and start a new life with him. Or how a mysterious puppeteer appeared in a certain village a few months ago and would hardly talk to anyone. I would follow anything back then, but now I pick and choose where I go. Ignoring the vague or far fetched rumours and only focusing on the more believable. The only thing I have got in this village so far is something I haven't heard before, that Sasori joined a criminal organisation in order to take revenge on those who wronged him. There are no more details so I'll probably go to another village soon and search there to see if this information is worth it. The only major place I haven't been to is the sand village, I don't have any intention of ever going back there...

I walk back through the village, the search today was almost useless. I have one piece of information and that doesn't even tell me where to go next. Sasori certainly made himself hard to find, but I'm sure if I find enough clues or get lucky one day then I'll find him. I'm a believer of miracles. I'll leave this place the day after tomorrow, that is my tradition now, whenever I have had enough of a village I always stay a day longer just in case. Never done anything for me, but still...

The sun is shining overhead, the sky is clearer than it has been for ages, no hint or whisper of a cloud. I am walking oblivious to everyhing and everyone around me, feeling better than I have in a long time. When someone suddenly grabs my wrist and twists me around.

I don't waste time screaming for help or trying to get loose. My hand darts to one of the daggers I still wear around my waist, and I pull it out. I swing it up, but the person holding me isn't doing anything, just staring at me in almost disbelief. He looks at me and makes no move, he seems to recognise me. But isn't sure of it.

"What do you want?" I snap at him. He looks me up and down, taking in my brown hair and the long flowing dress I am wearing.

"It's... You." He trails off, shaking his head in confusion, then says, "But... How?"


	19. Reunion

Chapter Nineteen

Reunion

The boy holding my wrist stares at me, his mouth slightly agape. I grow tired and pull my hand away, tearing my wrist out of his grip,

"Just who the hell are you?" I say to him, "Answer me or leave me alone."

"I know you..." He murmurs, "Suji...Ire...Bun" I look straight at him, He is taller than me, but slender without being wimpy. He has long blonde hair that he wears in a ponytail and a large fringe covering his left eye. His visible eye is a brilliant blue and he wears a mesh shirt, with a blue top over it, and blue trousers. He is quite good looking, and probably just slightly older than me, 17 or so years old.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I ask again. He shakes his head,

"Sorry. My name is Deidara, but feel free to call me Dei." He smiles at me, I don't return the smile,

"How do you know my name?" His smile drops,

"Because of Sasori. He once made a puppet and named it Suji Irebun. It looked exactly like you... I asked him about it and he said it was a girl that betrayed him once." I freeze at the word

_Betrayed..._

"Where is Sasori now? Take me to him." I say it very calmly and clearly, never taking my gaze away from Deidara. He obviously doesn't need much persuasion because he takes my wrist again and leads me through the village at a brisk walk, leading me towards the main village gate.

_I guess I'll be leaving sooner than I thought._

Deidara suddenly stops,

"Is something the matter?" I say, he looks over at me and winks,

"Stay behind me and hide. That way we can surprise him." I shrug and walk behind Deidara, quite easily hiding behind him. He starts off walking again towards the trees, and soon stops in front of one.

"Sasori, I'm back, un." Says Deidara, then a voice says

"You're late. You know I don't like to be kept waiting, brat." The voice sounds like Sasori's, but it has lost some of it's warmth and calmness. It has a slightly rougher edge to it, but it still sounds yound too, not like eighteen years have passed.

"I had to make a slight detour Sasori no Danna. That's why I'm late."

Sasori growls, still hidden from view,

"Oh really? What was it?" Deidara simply steps aside, revealing me to Sasori and finally letting me see my old friend. I stare at Sasori, at his flame red hair and wide brown eyes, also at his beauty. And his face, which hasn't aged at all... He mirrors my expression, and stares at me as if he can't quite believe it. That his friend Suji has turned up and hasn't aged in the eighteen years they have been apart.

"Hello, Sasori Senpai... I would have come after you sooner but I ran into some difficulties." Then I give a slight bow and wait for his response. He takes a step closer to me, and takes a deep breath.

"Deidara. Leave us."

"But what about..." Deidara starts to protest but is cut off by Sasori,

"Now." Deidara sighs and walks away, granting the two of us some privacy for a short while.

When he is gone Sasori walks right up to me, then holds the top of my arms, and places his forehead on my shoulder. "What happened to you? You look...Exactly the same." I stand still,

"You see, I've always been a puppet..." I explain about how I was made with a forbidden Jutsu, by a woman named Kagura. But after I was created I needed a reason to live, and Chiyo gave me that reason. To become friends with her grandson called Sasori... He straightens up and stares into my eyes

"Oh... All this time I thought you were just a cruel girl who didn't care about me." I smile at him,

"Of course I care about you Sasori Senpai. So, what happened to you when you left? You look exactly the same as well." He tells me how the night he left Chiyo had given him a note, on it was the method of making human puppets. He perfected it in a couple of months, and then turned himself into one in order to last eternally. Then he left to join the Akatsuki... And Deidara is his partner in the group.

"Right." I say, "I'm pleased to know you've forgiven me after eighteen years. And it's good that you learnt to make human puppets. That is what caused this whole mess after all." He nods in agreement,

"So, what took you so long to find me?" I hesitate, then start explaining...

"Chiyo did what?!" He exlaims when I tell him about what happened,

"I'll Kill her, I really will." He says in a threatening tone. I say,

"No, It doesn't matter." He turns his back on me and begins to walk away,

"I'll kill her for what she did. It's her fault we are living like this."

"No!" I yell, then hug him from behind, then I speak quietly and calmly into his ear "Please... Maybe Chiyo did a good thing. If she hadn't then you wouldn't be a Human Puppet. You would gave grown up and I would have stayed the same, our friendship would have crumbled. But now we are the same, Chiyo will die, but we can live with each other. For all eternity, and don't you believe in eternal beauty?" Sasori relaxes in my grip,

"Of course..." He says, "Very well. We won't go after her." I step back from him and bow my head,

"Thank you Sasori Senpai." I look up and see him looking back at me,

"No problem, Suji. Come on then, We better go find Deidara and then leave this place. We have things to be getting on with." I take his hand,

"Sure, let's go." And we begin walking towards the village to find Deidara.

"Oh, and one more thing..." I say, Sasori looks at me,

"And what is it?" I flash back on the memories of the last words Sasori said to me eighteen years ago,

_Because I Love You..._

I smile at him, "I Love you too."


	20. Akatsuki

Chapter Twenty

Akatsuki

Suji Irebun; Fully fledged member of the Akatsuki. When I left the village I helped Sasori and Deidara with thier mission at that time. They had to assinate some guy who was spreading around rumours of the Akatsuki, and we had to... take care of him. We jumped him in his sleep and cut his throat, easy. Then Sasori made connection with the mysterious leader of the Akatsuki, and I am now allowed as part of it. So long as I listen to both my partners and follow their commands, I can stay with them. It's been six months now, I've seen a lot and done a lot. And I have also killed a lot.

I'm not as important as Sasori or Deidara, and I don't sleep or eat either, so it is my job to keep a lookout. When we travel from place to place I watch for anyone, by the time someone sees us and recognises we are Akatsuki, they are dead. A couple of people fight back but I also combined my fighting style with the two knives with poison. That part was Sasori's idea. It only takes a cut to kill someone now. And I help with thier ultimate goal, you see, the point of the Akatsuki is to find the nine tailed beasts and capture them. I'm not certain why and haven't seen the need to ask. Sasori and Deidara are impressed I found him after so many years, and believe I can help find a lead to where the beasts may be.

I'm not that interested anyway, I spend my days with Sasori mostly. Talking about puppets, our past, our future, eternal beauty, everything that we used to talk about together. I quickly learn that Deidara and Sasori don't get on too well, they constantly fight about art. Deidara believes in a fleeting moment of beauty, that is gone in an instant. Wheres Sasori believes in eternal beauty that never rots or fades. Their arguments are long and heated, sometimes involving conflict. I try to stay out of their way during these confrontations and let it pass. I also have a tattoo, Sasori did it himself. On my left shoulder blade there is a tattoo of a scorpion, the mark which he puts onto all of him puppets. Having it there reminds me that I exist to serve Sasori, and nothing else matters, it is the bond between us. Deidara doesn't approve, he reckons I belong to no-one and should have my own free will rather than exist to serve one person who doesn't really need me. I calmly explain to him that I do need a reason to live, or I'm dead already. Then he tells me to make my own reason, not do what I was ordered to. Then Sasori would get involved and it would be another fight again, it never stops.

One day, the two are needed for some sort of meeting. The rings they wear allow them to talk face to face with the leader and other members over long distances, and they get most of thier orders this way. Anyway, this time I don't understand most of the conversation, I only hear one side of it. But it seems to be getting a little heated, I've ignored most of it so far but my attention is drawn to the argument and Sasori saying, impatiently,

"I said no...No!" I wonder whats going on, but I don't ask. After a few minutes of protesting,

"Fine..." Sasori growls, and looks over at me, "Whatever."

"What was that about?" I ask him. And he turns his back away from me, obviously annoyed with what was said. Deidara answers for me,

"We've both got different missions to do right now, yeah. So we have to split up for a while to complete them."

"But..." I say, "What's the problem with that?" Deidara shakes his head,

"Leader says you have to come with me rather than Sasori. Safer for us."

"Oh... I see. Sasori isn't impressed by that then." Deidara smiles,

"Nope. But sometimes we just don't get what we want in life." Sasori doesn't respond, but keeps his back to us as if waiting for something.

"Come on then. We should be leaving, yeah." Deidara says, then turns away and begins to walk off. I hesitate a moment so I can talk to Sasori,

"I'll see you soon then. Be careful Sasori Senpai." He looks over his shoulder at me and gives a weak smile,

"It wouldn't matter even if I wasn't careful. But yes, see you soon." Then I turn and follow Deidara, not wanting to be left behind, and I just hear Sasori saying...

"Be Careful."

As I walk with Deidara, I make conversation with him. I don't often get the chance to just talk to him, when Sasori is around I'm often quiet, staying out of arguments. And Sasori isn't really the social type, and expects me to be the same. I ask Deidara about his life before the Akatsuki, learn that he stole his village's kinjutsu and soon after Itatchi, Kisame and Sasori found him and made him join. He hates Itatchi, who beat him in combat and made a fool of him. And to my surprise Deidara also hates the Akatsuki, He never wanted to join and is only a part of it because he was forced. I ask him if he has ever thought of leaving if he doesn't like it, but he says he has nowhere to go, so he's bound to the Akatsuki. I'm sure I'd find it sad, he's got nothing of value in his life. He's only staying because there is nothing else better. I explain that, and also says he is foolish for staying. Then he stares at me,

"What?" I say,

"If I'm the fool, what does that make you?" He asks bluntly, I shrug,

"I don't know what you mean." I ask, a little confused.

"You're calling me a fool for staying with the Akatsuki even though there might be something better if I left. There's nothing keeping me here, yeah." I don't answer, I have an idea what he is talking about, he continues, "Kind of like you. You're only a part of this because of Sasori, but isn't that a little stupid? You set out to find him, and you've done that and can see as clearly as I can that he doesn't care about you. Have you ever looked around and said, 'I don't have to do this. I can just go.'?" I open my mouth to retort, then close it. He's right, I don't have to be with the Akatsuki. Sasori has no emotions left, so I could go and he wouldn't feel a thing. Not like the last time...

Deidara doesn't get an answer, and I honestly don't think he was expecting one. We merely keep walking along throughout the day. I don't talk to him after that, I'm not angry or upset, just... lost. I hang back a few paces and think.

_Why don't I leave? Sasori doesn't need me anymore._

_Deidara's right. There's nothing stopping me._

_I wonder what goes through his head..._

My mind is racing with thoughts of Deidara and Sasori. I am so tempted to turn and walk away, I don't feel like Deidara would follow and Sasori would care. But before I can complete the thought, Deidara stops at an inn.

"Let's just spend the night here. I'm tired of walking." I nod,

"Sure. Good Idea."


	21. The Mission

Chapter Twenty-One

The Mission

I spend the night lying down on a sofa in my room at the inn. I say my room, but me and Deidara are sharing a room since I don't need to sleep, so one bed is enough. Once we arrived we payed for the room overnight and Deidara fell asleep without a word. He's a quiet sleeper, he doesn't snore and stays in the same position, on his side, all night long. By late morning, he woke up and we left, only with a few people asking if we were a couple, since we shared a room. We dismiss those observations and walk away into the forest. We haven't spoken much, but I try to start a conversation anyway,

"Deidara, what is the mission we're supposed to be doing? I'd be glad if you could tell me." Deidara hangs back a little to let me catch up, then falls into step beside me,

"We have to assasinate a man named Ayame. He's spreading information about the Akatsuki around. And he used to work as a spy for us, so he knows a fair amount. He's at the leaf village currently so we're going there."

"Ah." I nod, "We can do that. It's not hard to kill a man." Deidara smiles,

"No, not hard at all." I'm not sure if he means it, or if he is bieng sarcastic.

Shortly, we come to the edge of the trees and the Leaf Village is in sight. Deidara warned me that conversation with other people should be kept to a minimum. So I keep my head down and avoid eye contact with anyone here. We walk down streets, we know that Ayame lives across the street from a ramen stand, Ichiraku's ramen. We head there, and when we arrive Deidara goes to the stand and orders a bowl of ramen. I politely refuse offers of food and keep watch, dicreetly watching Ayame's house for movement. After a few minutes, the door opens and a man comes out. He has short black hair cut close to his head and a strong, muscular build. Deidara nods at me and mouths,

'That's him.'

We tail him the entire day, noticing that he is very agressive towards other people and seems to want to fight. He also has a loose tongue and speaks harshly and bluntly. After an afternoon of following him I am sure no one will miss him when we take care of him. We decide together to wait for nightfall when it is quieter and there are less witnesses around. Then we go to his house and kill him before the sun rises. Simple, yeah.

We attack in the night. Silently me and Deidara make our way to his house, and enter through a window left open. From the bottom floor, we can hear movement above us.

_Is he waking up?_

So we go up the stairs, as fleet footed and silent as a wolfen fiend. And we enter his bedroom, an unremarkable place I'll soon forget the look of. I draw out a kunai, intending to go and cut his throat quick, before he can attack. But as I move beside him, his eyes shoot open.

_He was only pretending to be asleep!_

He moves as suddenly as a snake's strike, and somehow gets behind me and pins my arms by my side with one massive arm. The other arm comes up to my throat and he pushes a kunai against it.

"Don't move." His voice is low and commanding. Deidara takes a step forward and I feel Ayame's grip tighten.

"I said don't move. Or your girlfriend gets it." Deidara merely smirks at him and raises his eyebrow,

"You knew we were coming Ayame. You can't win, even if you did kill her, I'd kill you. Now let her go so we can keep the casulties to a minimum, yeah." Ayame growls,

"You're bluffing. I can see you don't want her dead. So get out of my way."

"And where would you go? We would only find you again." Ayame points the kunai at Deidara,

"I can take that chance. Now, move! And I'm taking the girl with me, so I advise you, don't try anything smart." Ayame is beginning to sound like a caged animal at this point, Deidara notices this and smiles at him,

"What if I say no?"

"Then your girl dies and I get away. The End." Deidara tilts his head and grins, showing his teeth, then he says with mock sweetness,

"Prove it." Then his voice adopts a childish tone, "Dare ya!"

Ayame wastes no time, he flicks his wrist around and stabs me in the throat. I'd be dead in seconds if I were real, but I am only wood after all. He lets me go, probably expecting me to fall to the ground. So it comes as a surprise to him when I turn round, with the Kunai sticking out of my neck, no wound or blood visible. He pales, fixed to the spot, torn between terror and disbelief. I free the kunai from my neck, and kiss the blade. Then, lightning quick, I stab him right in the stomach, once... twice... three times. Blood sprays out of his body and covers the front of my dress. He falls to his knees and appears to be kneeling before me. I look down at him with malice, then smirk.

"What... are... You?" He says, coughing up blood as he speaks. "You're a... monster. Fit to burn... In... Hell." Then he looks up at me with complete loss and his eyes widen. I don't care he called me a monster, here I am in the middle of the night, covered in blood. I am about to kill him mercilessly and brutally, and that is all I can do for him now. I put a finger to his lips,

"Shh... Dead men shouldn't make so much noise." Then I stab him once more, between the eyes. I watch the light leave his eyes and he collapses to the floor face down, blood leaking through his clothes and forming a crimson pool around him.

I turn away from the corpse and see Deidara, who is staring at me.

"You're covered in blood. yeah." He states, I look up and down myself,

"Yeah, I guess I am." Then he walks over to me, and looks down on me, staring into my eyes. His hand moves up to my neck, touching the wood that was cut when Ayame tried to kill me.

"He hurt you." I automatically move my own hand up to inspect the damage, and end up placing my hand on Deidara's.

"He didn't hurt me. Just damaged me. I can fix it." I smile warmly at him, an alien expression for a girl who killed a man. His corpse isn't even cold yet. I see Deidara is staring at me. Then he says quietly,

"It's a shame..." and he trails off,

"What's a shame?" I ask

"Nothing." Deidara says quickly, "It was nothing."

"No, what did you say? What's a shame?" Deidara sighs,

"That Sasori loves you..." I pause, confused,

"What does that have to do with any-" Deidara cuts me off,

"I love you too." And before I can respond, he kisses me.


	22. Truths

Chapte Twenty-Two

For a second, just a second, confusion takes over. That second is all it takes, Deidara kisses me and I lose control of myself for a few long seconds. Then my head clears and I place my hands against his chest, and push him away. He stares at me, but doesn't look ashamed for what he just did.

"What was that?" I hiss, not really wanting to know but at the same time I need to get it all straight in my head, I have to ask. His face stays blank,

"I said I love you." His voice has a matter of a fact tone and sounds slightly irritated.

"But... Why? I'm a puppet, you know that." His features soften for a moment, and he shrugs.

"It's just... Watching you. Being with you every day. Somewhere along the line, I fell in love. Yeah." I shake my head and step back, away from him.

"I'm sorry. I can't love you. I have to... Sasori's the only one I've ever cared for in any way." Deidara's eyes widen and he grabs my wrist,

"Sasori... What can he give you that I can't?" And then he moves my hand to his chest, so I can feel his heartbeat,

"Better still, I'm alive, I have feelings and thoughts, and love. What does he have? Nothing, he's a heartless puppet." I don't know what to say, Deidara speaks the truth. But I also remember when I lost Sasori, the hurt and feeling in my core. It wasn't an emotion, but something much deeper. I couldn't put Sasori through that, Deidara is wrong, Sasori cares about me, but it's harder for him to show it. I sigh and look away,

"I respect you Deidara, I might even like you." I take my hand away and start walking for the door, "But I'll never love you." Then I leave behind the scene of bloody slaughter, and the man who says he loves me.

_I wonder which one is worse._

Deidara caught up with me soon after I left the village. He didn't try to talk to me and I didn't even look back at him. I stopped soon after to change out of my blood soaked dress, and put a new one on. Now we are walking along in stony silence, we decided to meet Sasori at a bridge near the land of waves, I believe it is called The Great Naruto Bridge, after some kid who helped protect it and get it built. We walk through the night, only stopping briefly for Deidara to sleep. While he sleeps I repair the cut in my neck, and make it good as new again. And once he awakes, he creates a large clay bird,

"Get on." He says, "It's better and faster than walking." Without responding I climb on, and make myself confortable sitting between the birds head and right wing, with my feet dangling over the edge. He's right, we do move a lot quicker and could be at the bridge in a matter of hours rather than days. And I quite enjoy the view from up here, It's facinating seeing everything from this point of view, it all looks tiny and is spread out like a map in front of me. I reach out and feel the wind rushing past us, I'm not afraid of falling. I wouldn't get hurt, or even die, I would be fine.

We arrive after a couple of hours, Sasori is waiting for us at the start of the bridge, with an annoyed look on his face.

"I don't like to be kept waiting." He growls, I jump off the bird and go to him,

"Sorry about that, Sasori Senpai. We came as quick as we could." He shakes his head, "Never mind. It doesn't really matter... I trust your mission went well?" I falter and consider telling him about what Deidara did, but then it would lead to more fights, and Sasori might feel betrayed. So I hold my tongue and say,

"Yes. There were no problems, it was quite easy actually." He looks at me, then Deidara, then he does something unexpected, He pulls me close and hugs me. I hug him back, turned away from Deidara, I don't want to see his expression, nor do I want to think about him. I belong to Sasori. Sasori murmurs into my ear, quietly so Deidara doesn't hear,

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." I respond, and he lets go.

"Well, are we ready to go now?" Deidara interupts. Sasori answers in a gruff voice, "Yes. I'm ready. Let's go." And then he starts walking. I hang back a little and Deidara walks next to me, then says quietly,

"You didn't tell him?" I look over at him, and shrug

"I didn't want you two to be fighting again. So no, I didn't tell him." He smiles, a thin smile that echoes a slight hint of sorrow. Then he speeds up to walk with Sasori, and creates another clay bird, "Come on, yeah. It's quicker this way." After a second of hesitation Sasori climbs on and Deidara follows. I catch up and step on sitting at the head, this time facing so I can see the rest of the bird, and Sasori and Deidara. With a glance at me, Deidara says,

"Here we go. yeah." And then the bird lifts off the ground.

Time passes, and I stay close to Sasori. Apart from long glances and stares from Deidara, he leaves me alone and doesn't try to kiss me again. I offer up a silent prayer for that. Now I spend my time with Sasori, talking to him about anything, but often we fall to talking about the memories we never had. All because of Chiyo splitting us up the way she did. If she had waited another year or so, I would have been ready for it. Deep down I knew I couldn't always be with Sasori so I chose to cherish the time with him. But she drove us apart too soon, and made him become what he is now. During the night, when Deidara needs to sleep is when we talk the most. And I lie against Sasori, and rest my head against his chest. Listening for a heartbeat that isn't there. Crazy as it is, I feel happier now. It's just me and Sasori, and we can be together eternally.


	23. The One-Tail

Chapte Twenty-Three

The One-Tail

It has been twenty years since Sasori left the sand village and I was trapped in the scroll, five years since I got out and started my search for him. Yet I have only been able to spend two short years with him so far. He should be thirty five years old, and he is-mentally. But his physical appearance is that of a fifteen year old, as is mine. And Deidara is nineteen, both mentally and physically, he's the only normal human in the trio. In my two years as part of the Akatsuki, there has never been any danger in what we do, the people we target are mostly helpless and weak. But now I can sense that the mission we are being sent on is something of importance, and maybe dangerous. Sasori and Deidara have to capture tailed beasts, and while we don't know where Sasori's is, we know that Deidara's has a host in the sand village. He is the current Kazekage and his name is Gaara... or something like that.

_Strange...That name almost seems familiar._

But I can't remember, when tireless days and sleepless nights blend together you easily forget a face, especially if it is someone in the sand village, I've done everything I can to forget that place. Maybe I know Gaara, maybe I don't, it makes no difference one way or another.

Anyway, Sasori approaches me, I brush the dirt from my clothes and smile at him.

"Suji." He says,

"Yes, Sasori senpai?" He twines his fingers together, then catches himself and stops,

"Well. We're going to the sand village. But I know you don't like it there... So did you want to stay here and just me and Deidara go?" I consider it, Its true I don't want to go back, but I know Sasori doesn't want to go either. It's best I go with him, for the both of us.

"Don't worry about me. I'll come. It's not for long anyway." He nods, it's hard to tell what he wanted me to say. If he's relieved or not that I'm coming, I can't say.

"Come on, when do we leave?" I ask, changing the subject slightly.

"Now." Deidara interuptts, "The sooner the better." Then he creates a new clay bird, makes it grow so it can easily hold the three of us. I climb on, then turn and see Sasori climbing into Hiruko, the human puppet modeled after the normal puppet we built all those years ago. This one is bigger, with more weapons and even wears the Akatsuki cloak and hat. Sasori usually uses it when traveling somewhere he can't be seen, or on more dangerous missions when he needs the added protection and weapons. I sit at the head of the bird, facing forward to get a clear view of the route we are taking. A few seconds later, I feel the bird lift and we rise from the ground.

Ever since I went flying that first time, when I was with Deidara, I've learned to love it. It's one of the few things that amuses me, the pull of the wind and the staggering heights. I like every minute of it. We're quite high now, soaring through the skies. If someone fell from this height it would mean certain death, I don't get why Deidara is so confident, standing upright on the bird. I know he uses chakra control to stay on, but doesn't he get scared? If he fell, he'd die. If something went wrong... He sees me looking at me, and he winks over at me, smirking. I shake my head and look away, focusing on Sasori instead. Whilst he wouldn't die if he fell, it would still damage him. He would probably break a few limbs, and there is also the danger of his core being pierced. That would be bad, his core is like his heart, it is the only living part left of his body and if it is hurt in any way, he'll die.

I wonder what I'd do if that happened, If Sasori died would I stay in the Akatsuki with Deidara? Forever a part of it, getting new partners when the old one died, outlasting them all? Or would I run away? Make a living for myself, or even go back to the sand village? I couldn't turn to suicide, I don't know how to cease my existance and Sasori doesn't know either. I may just be immortal, and invincible. My train of thought is broken by loud voices behind me. I turn and see that Deidara and Sasori are in yet another fight, probably another about art. I can't really tell what they are saying, at this height and speed the wind drowns out most sound for me. But they look different than they usually do, when they fight they normally go for a while, and then won't talk to each other for a while. This time they both look provoked, Sasori has Hiruko's large poisoned tail ready to strike, and Deidara has taken up a defensive stance, glaring at him. I decide if they really do start fighting, I'll go and stop them.

My chance comes a couple of minutes later, Sasori swings the tail at Deidara and barely misses, whilst Deidara starts to create some sort of clay bomb. I sigh to myself, then get up, planning to stop then before it gets ugly. As I stand, the full force of the wind hits me like a brick wall, threatening to pull me over the edge. I react instantly and use chakra control to keep my feet on the bird, but since I have so little Chakra I am no good at this. For a second, which is all it takes for relief to build up, I am stood shakily on the bird. But then my weak chakra gives way and I am pushed off the side. I don't think, just act,

"Deidara!" I yell, and stretch out my arms, meaning to try and grab the side of the bird before it is too late. But I'm not lucky enough, my fingers fall within centimetres of the edge and I keep falling. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the ground rush up to me. But then my body jerks to a halt, I open one eye, then the other, and blink twice to make sure what I am seeing is real.

It's Deidara, he's reaching down to me, but his hand doesn't reach. Instead, there is a clay snake coming from the mouth of his right hand, and the other end of it is wrapped around one of my wrists. He suddenly smiles at me,

"You really owe me one for this."

"Never mind that. Just help me up!" I say in reply, he grins and then pulls back, pulling me up to the bird again. Once I am in reaching distance he leans down and grabs my shoulder, he's stronger than he looks, and pulls me up the rest of the way. With my feet again on almost stable ground, I make my way to the head of the bird and sit down heavily. Both Sasori and Deidara stare at me. I take a deep breath,

"Thanks, Deidara. Let's keep going now."

He nods and the bird begins to move again, picking up speed. Sasori moves and sits next to me in Hiruko, almost protectivly. I smile at him, and he says nothing. After a few minutes, when I'm completley over the fall, I withdraw into myself and my thoughts keep me company.

Then we reach the desert. I know it instinctivley so when I look at the landscape beneath us it comes as no surprise as I see the sea of sand and dust, with its towering sand dunes and occasional plant. We say nothing, but I feel that Sasori isn't glad to be back here. I feel the same, I didn't want to come here ever again. Deidara lands the bird, and jumps off.

"Come on. We'll be seen if we go any further like this." I nod and drop off from the side with Sasori. Then we begin to walk, After an hour or so I can see the sand village. Feelings and memories come flooding back, the festival I went to years ago, the fireworks, fighting with Sasori, making puppets. Whilst it has bad memories, I'd forgotten all about the good things in this place. Sasori doesn't react or say anything, I wonder if he'd forgotten things about the village too.

A short while later we arrive, met by Yura. A young man under the influence of Sasori's mind control jutsu. He killed everyone at this gate so we could get here unseen. Then he leads us in, and I enter once more the village I ran from.


	24. Returning

Chapter 24

Returning

When we get into the village, I'm surprised by what I see. The place looks nearly exactly the same as it was twenty years ago. All the big buildings are in the same place and the layout hasn't changed at all. But whilst the place hasn't aged, I'm sure a lot of the people here I saw have grown and changed a lot, unlike me. The sun is beginning to set, so Deidara takes out more clay and makes a new bird. Then he leaps onto it. With a

"Don't keep me waiting too long." from Sasori, Deidara flies off to find and capture the Kazekage Gaara. We watch him for a while, then once it gets dark Sasori adresses Yura.

"Yura, you should go. It would be a problem if you were found here." Yura gives a small bow,

"Yes, Lord Sasori." And then he turns and leaves us.

"_Lord _Sasori?" I ask, slightly intriuged as to where that came from. Sasori seems to hesitate, and doesn't reply. After a minute of silence, he says,

"Why didn't you tell me?" I look over at him, slightly confused.

"Tell you what?"

"About Deidara." I freeze, and I detect an echo of sadness in his voice... and of hurt.

"What about Deidara?" I say, trying to act dumb, praying that he leaves it. It doesn't work, Sasori snaps and he slams Hiruko's tail onto the ground, causing dust and dirt to rise.

"You know what!" He says, on the borderline of shouting at me. I flinch and take a step back, my gaze drifts to behind him and I see Deidara flying through the air, fighting against the Kazekage, I shake my head slightly and then I ask in a quiet voice.

"How did you find out?" He looks at me and tilts his head,

"So there's no denial..." His voice calms a bit and he says, "Deidara told me the day after you got back."

"Oh..." I say, not sure what else I could say,

"He also said it was all his fault, and you're innocent. You did nothing." I don't say anything, I don't know what to say. I've never been put in this position. I just stare at him, hoping the right answer will just come to me. I hesitate, and this time the tail swings into me, right into my stomach and knocks me over. I land flat on my back, and after lying there a moment I pull myself up onto my elbows. I stare in disbelief at Sasori, did he just try to hurt me? Is he really that mad?

"What's the matter?" I ask, not getting up. He points the tail at me,

"You couldn't tell me... You did nothing... Do you care for Deidara?" I shake my head and look down,

"I can't..."

"Answer me!" I look right up at him, and stare into the eyes of the puppet Hiruko.

"He's a partner of mine in the organisation I work for, the Akatsuki. He's an artist and I call him a friend. Nothing more, and nothing less." Sasori turns away and I stand up, an act of defiance. Trying to look more confident than I feel,

"I love you Sasori. I always have. I feel nothing for anyone else... Especially Deidara. We're just unlucky."

"Unlucky?" He says, with his back still to me.

"Yes. Fate made me a puppet, had you love me... I developed feelings for you and then we were broken apart for Eighteen years. And when we were finally reunited, there was another person fate had thrown in who cared for me. It's not your fault, or mine, or Deidara's. It's just the way things are." He doesn't respond but I hope what I'm saying is getting through to him. I step towards him, and when he doesn't react I get closer, and move into his field of vision. I smile at him.

"I love you." and I sink to my knees before the puppet, and wrap my arms around it in a kind of awkward hug. I close my eyes and stay like that, until my chin is lifted by something. I open my eyes and see Sasori has gotten out of his puppet, he is lifting my chin up with his hand, so I can look into his wide brown eyes. Memories flood back as I remain locked in his gaze, the sad look in his eyes when I first saw him, how that faded as we grew closer. And his flawless beauty, I smile up at him and he moves his hand down my neck. Then he takes my wrist with his other hand and helps me up so I am standing again.

"I love you too." he says, then he kisses me. It's one of the first outward signs of his affection I've seen in a long time. Unlike when I was with Deidara, I respond automatically and kiss back. Pressing my body closer to his and wrapping my arms around him. I wish I could stay like this eternally, forget everyone else.

I don't know how long afterwards, he pulls away.

"Come on. I have to set some traps in case they follow us. So it holds them back for a short while." I nod, and I know that he's forgiven me, and we don't need to speak about it any more. Everything is back the way it should be.

"Of course. Let's do it." A while later, everything is sucessfully rigged and Deidara flies back after his battle with the Kazekage. I am slightly shocked to see that one of his arms has been torn off, and blood is dripping from the sleeve of his cloak. Without thinking I tear a strip of cloth from the sleeve of my dress and pull up Deidara's tattered sleeve, then I wrap the cloth around the bloodied end. Then I avert my eyes and I look at the body of the Kazekage, Gaara, and instantly recognise him,

"Oh... It's him."

"You know him?" Deidara asks. I turn and look at Sasori.

"When I escaped the village I met him. He was the one who let me go and didn't alert Lady Chiyo. I've always felt like I owed him..." I shrug, "Sorry Gaara. There's nothing I can do for you this time." Then I walk through the gate and towards the desert,

"Come on. We should go before they come looking for us."

And I turn my back on the village. Somehow I know I'll never see it again.

We haven't been walking too long, but the sun has already begun to rise. When Sasori stops,

"We've been followed." And he turns round. I look over my shoulder and see another boy there, slightly older than Gaara. Dressed in black with brown hair, and his face painted with a purple pattern. He also looks familiar. Sasori says,

"Who're you?" Deidara interrupts and says,

"We know a bit about this one. The older brother of the Kazekage here... His name was Kanturo or something like that." I remember him as well, the three children who let me out all those years ago. They were probably all related, the sand siblings, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro.

"Kankuro." I say, "His name is Kankuro. He's a puppet user." Deidara raises an eyebrow,

"Kind of like you, right Sasori?" Sasori growls in response,

"We can't afford to be held back. Deidara, take Suji with you and go. I'll catch up later." I want to argue and stay back with Sasori, but what he says is right because I know we need to keep going. So I say nothing and climb onto the clay bird. I smile, "See you soon Sasori." He says,

"Yes. See you." Then the bird speeds up and we fly off, and Sasori soon becomes a shadow in the distance. I lie back on the bird and stare up at the sky, waiting until Sasori catches up.


	25. Akatsuki Cave

Chapter Twenty-Five

Akatsuki Cave

Deidara stops the bird and gets off.

"Let's wait here for Sasori to catch up. You know how he is, he doesn't like to keep people waiting so he'll be here soon." I sit on the bird, facing him and nod.

"Alright then." Then a movement from behind him catches my eye, a glint of metal in the sunlight, like a kunai or shuriken aimed right for the back of his head.

"Get down!" I say, and he drops to his knees, the kunai misses and sinks into the sand, we both stare atit for a second before looking at the thrower. It's just a simple sand shinobi, and he's not alone. There is a group of about ten of them, probably chunin or jounin rank depending on how many people the traps delayed and how many they had left to send off. They're here to take Gaara back, but it will only result in their deaths. Stupid people, throwing their life away for a lost cause. They all strike as one, and I pull out my poisned knives and start to battle.

There are five on me, and seven to Deidara. They probably had me down as less of a threat since I wasn't seen when Deidara got the Kazekage, and I just look like a helpless girl. But they're wrong, I cut through them easily and even laugh a little to myself. If this is the extent of the sand shinobis power then they stand no chance of recovering Gaara. I can see Deidara also killing off the ninja as if they were rats, making his clay creations explode in their faces and bodys. A few minutes later, the fight is over and neither me or Deidara has been hurt or damaged. So after checking the bodies to make sure no one is faking death, we retreat and sit against a rock to wait for Sasori. I'm on the right of Deidara so I can see what is left of his arm, it doesn't look pretty.

"Does that hurt?" I ask, he shrugs and looks at the sky, the sun is now fully up,

"It did hurt, but now it's just numb."

"Oh." I say, "That's good." And I sit in a comfortable silence, but I get the feeling Deidara wants to say something, maybe ask something.

"An unasked question is the most futile thing in the world." Echoing what Lady Chiyo once said to me in the Sand Village, when I wanted to know about human puppets. Deidara doesn't answer at first, then he asks,

"How has Sasori changed?"

"What do you mean?" He looks down at his right hand, and slowly clenches and unclenches the fingers,

"Is he any different now from what he was when he was human?" I think about it, recalling what I can from when me and Sasori lived in the same village,

"Well... He was still quite mysterious and unattached. But at the same time he used to smile a lot more, and even laugh. When I first met him he seemed sad, his eyes showed something hurt him deep down. Though when we got closer that faded, his eyes began to glow." I trail off, anoyyed that I got carried away, "And now he's mostly expressionless. But he's still that boy I loved from twenty years ago."

Deidara nods,

"What about sadness?" He says, "Did Sasori ever cry?" I respond right away without hesitation,

"No. Whilst he could get annoyed he never cried. He was strong, even as a young man. I never once saw him cry and it would be hard to imagine him doing so." I don't say that on my last night there when Sasori left he was in tears. That is a memory just for me and Sasori, I won't ever share that with anyone. Deidara smiles,

"I kind of wanted to know about him. But didn't ask because I was worried he'd be annoyed or something. So, thanks." I smile,

"No problem. You were worried he'd be annoyed?" I raise an eyebrow, "I didn't have you down as the type to get annoyed. Especially by Sasori". Deidara chuckles and shakes his head, "Anyway. When I was fighting I saw Sasori... Hit you. Are you ok?" I smile and nod, "He was a little mad about what happened between us. But he's forgiven me. We're fine now, so don't worry about it." Deidara smiles, but before either of us can say anything else I can see a shape nearby, my eyes focus and I can see it is Hiruko, and therefore Sasori. I stand up and wait for his arrival. He gets here and before I can say anything Deidara says,

"I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting." Even with my back to him, I can feel Deidara's smirk from here. Sasori says in a low voice,

"It just took longer than I expected." and he climbs onto the bird without another word.

"Let's go." I follow him on and sit beside him. Deidara stands on the bird and it takes off.

It takes another day or so before we reach the cave. The cave is used as the Akatsuki as a hideout and it is where we are going to be taking the one-tail out of Gaara. After releasing the seal on the enterance, the three of us walk in. I look around, the cave is quite spacious but there is nothing in it, just walls and a floor. Deidara sets the body on the ground and steps back. Then some sort of hologram appears, only the eyes are in colour but it is the outline of a man. He speaks to the three of us,

"We must begin. It will take at least three days." Deidara and Sasori nod, and then the ground begins to shake, a large pair of outstretched hands are rising up. When it has stopped more of the holograms appear on the fingers, showing more Akatsuki members. Sasori and Deidara leap to a finger each. Then after casting some sort of jutsu, the leader retreats and the process of drawing out the shukaku begins.

The process is a long one, each member of the Akatsuki inputs their chakra which seems to combine. Gaara is lifted off the ground, and is making a sound as if he is being suffocated. I can't help anyone in this situation so I sit in the corner of the cave and stay quiet, so I don't annoy or distract anyone. The leader breaks the silence and says, "Zetsu, use your psychical body to keep watch. It would be problematic if we were to be disturbed." The one called Zetsu, a creepy man with what looks to be a plant around him nods in agreement.


	26. Lady Chiyo

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lady Chiyo

It's been three or so days now. There have been two different interruptions from two sets of ninja after Gaara. But Itachi and Kisame, two akatsuki members, managed to hold them for a while so the jutsu could be completed. Finally, it finished and Gaara fell to the floor motionless. I walk over and check his pulse and breathing, just in case. But no, he's dead. I stand up and announce it, "Yes, he's dead."

The leader says, "We expected it. But he's insignificant, we only needed the one tail inside of him." I step back, and Deidara and Sasori join me.

"Yes, leader." Says Deidara. The leader steps back and disappears, and the other members do the same. Sasori says,

"The people coming for him, they could be here soon. Including another Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails." I smile and look over at Sasori,

"Are you going to try and capture him then? It's easier then finding the three tails, which you don't know anything about."

"Yes..." Sasori says, "That's what I am going to try to do." Deidara walks past, and sits on Gaara's corpse.

"So now what we do is wait for them to break in here. Capture the nine-tails, easy."

I agree with him, "That's all we really can do right now." And then I walk to his side and face the entrance, ready to meet the danger head on. I am a little worried, because if these two squads were strong enough to take on Akatsuki doubles and win, then they are strong enough to challenge us. But oh well, we should be fine.

It's doesn't take them long. After a few hours some sort of large force hits the wall, and it crumbles. Then daylight floods in and the people enter. There is a pink haired girl, maybe fifteen or so years, a blonde boy wild wild blue eyes and an older man with his face almost totally covered by a mask, with his headband covering his left eye. I can tell from their headbands that the three belong to the Hidden Leaf village, in the Land Of Fire... Then someone else steps in and I freeze,

It's an old lady in simple clothing, with grey hair and brown eyes. I haven't seen her recently, but I know who it is.

"Lady Chiyo..." I say to myself, quietly, then I step back into the shadows of the cave. She hasn't seen me yet and I don't want to acknowledge her, I'm not ready. She hangs back a little, and the blonde is yelling at Deidara.

"Who the hell do you think you're sitting on?!" I stare at him, his eyes are even wilder and look like they belong to an animal rather than a person. He feels dangerous, even if he is just a kid. My gaze drifts to the girl, she doesn't look anything special, she seems worried about Gaara, but hasn't lost her cool like the other kid. And the older guy with them looks alert, but also composed at the same time. He's seen death before, I can tell, he knows there is nothing he can do. And Chiyo is hanging back a little, looking a little guilty. My trail of thoughts breaks off when Sasori growls, it seems Deidara and Sasori are starting another art fight.

_Really guys? This isn't the time!_

I ignore it, I've gotten good at this over time, and keep one eye on the blonde, the other on Chiyo. I can see her gaze sweeping the cave, exploring the shadows. And then she sees me, her face doesn't change, but her eyes flare. In response I step forward, but only Chiyo and the man notice, the boy and girl are too focused on Gaara. The fight between Deidara and Sasori seems to be over, Deidara gets onto a new clay bird and has it hold Gaara's body in it's mouth. Then he smirks,

"See you later Sasori, Suji. Don't keep me waiting." Then he winks, and he flies off. Instantly the blonde runs after him, ignoring the yells and commands of the man, probably his sensei. Now all the people left are Chiyo and the little girl.

"Sasori... Suji. This is quite a reunion." In response I curl my fingers into a fist and say,

"I didn't want a reunion with you until I spat on your grave." She tuts and shakes her head,

"Suji, girl. I created you, and I thought I taught you better than that. Respect your elders and betters." I punch my fist into the other open palm.

"You aren't my better though, and you've got one foot in the grave. I don't owe you any respect." I see the girl bristle, as if offended. But I don't care at this point.

"And I'm not yours any more. I belong to Sasori. So even if you helped create me, if you get in my way... I'll kill you." She smiles, and Sasori interrupts,

"Chiyo, back down now or we'll have to fight you. And I won't hesitate to kill you, grandmother." She shakes her head again,

"I may be old, but I can still fight. And I'll make sure to finish you before I go." The threats hang in the air, creating a dangerous atmosphere. I know that Chiyo won't back off, this girl looks determined to fight and that me and Sasori will fight, we're in no danger at all. We can't be killed. When no-one says anything after that, I say,

"Let's get this over with. The sooner we kill them both then the sooner we can go and meet with Deidara again."

"Yes..." Sasori says, "Let's go."

Then the mouth of his puppet opens and hundreds of senbon shoot out. They're not really a deadly weapon, just irritant. But I know that each one is laced with an incurable poison that Sasori created. And even he doesn't know the cure for it. If Chiyo or the girl gets even a small cut, the poison will get in, numb their body in no more than a minute. And finally finish them after three days. If they get cut, they're dead. But they begin to weave in and out of the senbon, dodging them all without getting any kind of wound. It surprises me that they're so good, but they won't be good enough.

_They'll die no matter what they try. Fools..._


	27. The Last Battle

Chapter 27

The Last Battle

As they weave expertedly through the kunai, I'm surprised, Yeah Chiyo should be fine since she's been on a lot of missions like this so she's experienced. But the girl is also doing it, and she can't have picked it up so soon.

_What's going on?_

The senbon run out, and Chiyo and the girl are still standing, just panting slightly. Chiyo reaches up her sleeve and draws out kunai on a string, the string comes out and the kunai fly towards me and Sasori. I don't plan to move, the kunai won't hurt me and I don't want to look cowardly. But it doesn't happen, Sasori stretches out Hiruko's tail and blocks the oncoming hail of kunai for both me and himself. Then the girl begins running at us, at Sasori. I move to try and intercept her but I hear Sasori hiss,

"Stay back." So I do, I step to the side of Sasori and watch. He pulls out his tail and strikes for her, but it stops in midair. I'm confused, I know it has a much larger range than that... Then it hits me, Chiyo! She attached Chakra threads to the tail, when she threw those kunai she knew Sasori would block them. We've fallen into a trap, Chiyo yells,

"Sakura, Now!" And the girl, Sakura begins to run forward again. This time I move to stop her, but it's too late. She jumps for Sasori and sends her fist down onto Hiruko, and her pure strengh cracks the puppet and forces Sasori to move. He lands behind me, a black cloth covering his face. He stands, and says, his voice now changed to his regular voice,

"I'm impressed..." And he begins pulling the cloth away from his face, "Granny Chiyo." And then his face is revealed. Chiyo and Sakura look to be in shock, Sasori should be thirty-five but instead he's kept the apperance of a fifteen year old. And a scroll comes down through his sleeve and he opens in in front of Chiyo and Sakura, it has the number three on it. I know what is it that scroll, the third Kazekage. Sasori once told me he went back to the village after he mastered making human puppets and killed the third Kazekage, using his body to make a human puppet. It's his favourite one. The puppet appears and I see Lady Chiyo freeze and stare at the puppet,

"It...can't be." Sasori gives a soft, mocking laugh,

"This piece was the most difficult to aquire... But I think that's what makes it my favourite." She's in shock, I can see why, The third was presumed dead, after he mysteriously disappeared one day for no reason. And now here he is, as Sasori's Human Puppet. I smirk at her, though she doesn't notice. Then I see Sasori's fingers twitch, he's about to make his move...

The puppet extends an arm, and parts of it open up, revealing some kind of seals. I watch, intriuged, I've never seen the moves this puppet can perform so this sparks curiosity in me. The seals glow and hands come out of them, hundreds of hands swirl out and join into one large mass, then they head for Sakura. She realises what is going on anc Chiyo, who must have attached chakra threads to her at some point, pulls her back. Too slow. The hands pound the ground over Sakura, and she should be crushed by the sheer force of them, I wonder if she was.

No, I hear Sasori mutter quietly, "It didn't work." And Chiyo pulls back on the threads, and Sakura starts to come out of the hands, Sasori raises his eyebrow and moves his finger, and a poison gas begins to come out.

"Hold your breath Saukra!" Chiyo yells, and tries to pull Sakura away from the fog. But Sasori makes the arms release ropes which get Sakura trapped, then they drag her back into the gas. Now Sakura is trapped in a deadly tug of war, if Sasori wins, she dies. And Chiyo probably won't have enought time to win. After all, one can only hold their breath for so long. It lasts like this for a minute, then the gas begins to fade, it's run out. I see Chiyo breathe a sigh of relief, and as if on cue, Sasori says,

"Did you think that was the only poison gas I posess?" And another one comes out, I know Sakura won't last much longer. No more than another half minute at the most. Chiyo realises this and runs forward, probably hoping to dive into the gas and pull Sakura free. But she doesn't get the chance, there is suddenly a large explosion and the fog is blown away. Sakura falls backwards through the air, straight into the arms of Lady Chiyo. I look over at Sasori, he looks slightly annoyed that he didn't manage to kill her, now it means we have to waste more time over killing these two. I look back at them and see that Sakura has gotten to her feet, and is facing us.

"You can poison me till I can't stand... But I'll get you! Just you wait, I'll get you and make you tell me everything about Orochimaru!" I know who Orochimaru is, he's Sasori's old partner from the Akatsuki, but he left and I've never seen him. I just don't know why this girl would want to know about him, its strange. Oh well, not my problem. Sasori seems to have had enough because he sends kunai shooting from the arms right at Sakura.

But they don't hit, something deflects them. That something is two more puppets that Chiyo is controlling, one shaped like a woman and the other shaped like a man. For a split second, I see Sasori's face with a look of pure shock, But it disappears so quickly that I'm not sure of it. Chiyo doesn't see it either, just says,

"You remember these, eh?" He shrugs a little,

"Yeah, I suppose I do."

"Good." Chiyo says, "These were the first puppets you ever created. The mother, and the father." And she pulls the heads of the puppets up, I can see clearly that the mother has the same brown eyes and beauty as Sasori, and the father has Sasori's flame red hair. Sasori told me his parents were dead, and I can clearly see that these two aren't human puppets, so I wonder why he made these.

"I don't know what you hope to accomplish with those. I made them, I know all their secrets." She doesn't say anything, merely send the puppets forward. Sasori copies and sends the human puppet forwards, then they begin fighting. I watch with amazment, Sasori and Chiyo are moving so quickly, not just their fingers but their whole arms controlling the puppets. The puppets are moving quicker than two people ever could, and sparks from weapons are flying off in all directions. The fight lasts no longer than half a minute, and all puppets fall back. The metal weapons have all been grinded down to a fraction of their previous size and are now useless. Sasori sighs, and twitches a finger, the puppets mouth opens, and out of the throat pours something black. I hear Chiyo say,

"It's as I feared, it's his jutsu. The Iron Sand." The Iron sand, I know is a unique jutsu which allowed the user to use the sand and shape it to whatever they want, a weapon or defence. And the user can convert chakra in some way that renders metallic weapons useless, by changing the magnetic field. As an extra, since Sasori has mixed poison with the sand it will kill Chiyo or Sakura if it even scratches them. I can't think of a weakness in it, they're both doomed. Sakura catches my eye, and I stare at her and smirk, letting her know her time is up. If she stays then she will die. She meets me with a stare of defiance, she won't back down and I know it.

"All the better." I mutter to myself, "I'd hate for someone foolish enough to confront me and Sasori to get away alive." And I grin at her, open my mouth, and laugh at her.


	28. The Last Battle (Part Two)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Last Battle Part Two

Chiyo tries to move the puppets. Tries to anyway. But they don't move fluidly, and it takes all her strength to even move a limb. Confusion sets across her face as she looks from one puppet to another, she's puzzled more than shocked at the minute. But I see her eyes widen as realisation strikes. Then from the joints of the puppets, I can see black iron grains of sand holding the joints tightly, stopping them from moving. She tries once more to move the puppets, but they don't shift even a little. Sasori twitches his finger and iron sand forms huge blocks of poisoned sand. Sakura and Chiyo look at eachother, it is plain to see they're beginning to get worried. Without puppets for self defence it' a simple task for us to overwhelm them and finish them off. I smile at the thought of Chiyo dying by my hand, though I am pretty sure...

I look over at Sasori, who is staring blankly at the two. I'm pretty sure he would want to kill her for everything she's done. Even if I want to, I will let Sasori kill her if he wants to.

Sakura has gone over to Chiyo and says something to her. Chiyo is shaking her head but Sakura is making some sort of point. Soon, after a brief debate, Sakura puts herself between us and Chiyo, and Chiyo attaches chakra threads to her.

"Very clever. Using herself as a puppet..." And I realise, She's using herself as a puppet since she won't be stopped by the iron sand. But there is still the problem of poison, if she gets a scratch then it will get in and kill her. Chiyo sends her running forward, running to her end. Sasori shows no interest, only ready to finish this battle and leave, so he makes the blocks of iron fall, but Sakura is able to hit them away easily. They keep going, one after another. But she has immense strength, and bats the shapes away with sheer force. They crash into the walls and roof of the cave, causing the whole place to shake underfoot. And then I notice something else, Sakura is able to move a lot faster to get to the blocks, as if she knows where they will be.

_It's almost like she can read his attack patterns...!_

And it becomes clear that she is beginning to read where the attack comes from based on the movement of his fingers. Even though Chiyo controls some movement it is clear that Sakura is the one in control. They're impressive, the two of them. Chiyo may be old but she can still fight, and Sakura is young but a lot stronger than she looks. Then there is a sound like a huge crack, and the roof of the cave splits, and falls in on itself. I stand closer to Sasori and try to avoid the big rocks crashing down, When the shaking stops I look up. There is no trace of the cave anymore, we are just standing in a large crater with the sunlight falling in. I look over at Sakura, and it is to my surprise she is on the ground face down.

"What happened...?" I ask, having missed why she's down.

"Poison." Sasori murmurs, and I know that the poison must have got in at some point, and she's going numb, soon she will die.

"You'll last three days if I let the poison run its full course..." Sasori continues, "However, I don't plan to let you last that long." And he sends the third Kazekage puppet for her, I watch as it draws closer and I know that without Sakura Chiyo won't last much longer. I sigh, they entertained me for a while, and it was one of the more interesting fights I've seen. But now... It's over.

Or is it? Right before my eyes Sakura gets to her feet and in one swift movement she hits with all of her strength on the puppet. The body collapses and I stare over. She is standing, breathing heavily but no sign of being poisoned. How?

_What if the poison never got in...? _

She's moving to well for her to be controlled by Chiyo, she's moving for herself. I catch Sasori's eye, he's just as surprised as I am, I can see it in his eyes. Then we see it, Sakura has gone to Chiyo and has some sort of syringe in her hand, empty. What if she made an antidote somehow? It's impossible... Even Sasori can't cure that poison. But there she is, healthy and strong. I say to Sasori,

"What now? You don't have another puppet as useful as that one." He stares ahead, frowning slightly, then his expression clears and he mutters,

"There is one... But I haven't needed to use it since joining the Akatsuki." He shakes his head, then reaches for his cloak. And pulls it away, I stare at his body, I've never seen it before. I didn't know...

His chest has the core in, I knew about that much. But there is another sort of covered hole in the other side of his chest. Four scrolls are held on his back in some sort of holder, and in his stomach, there is a coiled wire dripping with poison. I can't help but to stare, I had no idea what he'd done to his puppet body. Didn't know he'd gone this far. He catches my eye quickly looks away, as if he didn't want me to see him like this.

I can hear Chiyo,

"So he's really done it. He's completley turned himself into a puppet..." Then Sasori takes out one of the scrolls from him back, and it rises into the air.

"Step back, Suji." His voice commands. And I do, when I'm out of the way fire shoots out of his hands. A towering inferno of fierce flames surge forward towards Sakura and Chiyo. They scurry off like rats and hide behind some boulders, Sasori aims the fire at the rock and it slowly begins to melt in the intense heat. They continue to get out of the way, probably waiting for the fire to stop. It soon does, and Sasori takes out a new scroll. This one is just as powerful as the first, powerful jets of water shoot out of his hands. Strong enough to cut through rock, but Chiyo and Sakura dodge the jets with little effort, only waiting for their moment to attack. When the water at last runs out, Chiyo comes into view and takes out a scroll. It opens and ten different puppets appear, all dressed in white robes.

_So that's what she's so famous for..._

"I once took down a castle with just these puppets." She says, "They won't fail." Sasori gives a thin laugh, as if he doesn't care, and takes out the third scroll,

"Impressive... However, I conquered an entire nation with these puppets." Loads of puppets soar out of the scroll into the sky, attatching to numerous chakra threads that are coming from an open compartment on his Sasori's chest. I stare up at them and Chiyo's mouth falls open. Her and Sakura look scared. There is a moment of silence, the calm before the storm before everything hits the fan. Then both sets of puppets collide and the real fight begins.

It's so quick and seemingly effortless. The puppets in red and the puppets in white do battle. Chiyo controlling one of the ten with each finger, and Sasori with his number of threads. It soon becomes apparent that even though Chiyo's puppets are outnumbered, she clearly has more control over the ten and more of his puppets perish first. But the more of his are destroyed, the more attention he can pay to the rest and his attacks grow more vicious. A couple of Chiyo's puppets go down, but not as many. Sakura has joined the fight too, using her strength to smash the puppets that get in range. Then I see it, one of Chiyo's puppets throws something to Sakura, a small white orb. Sakura nods and runs closer to me and Sasori, as Chiyo's puppets cover and protect her.

_What is that...? What's she doing?_

Then she throws it at Sasori. It begins to pulse and grow as it sails through the air, and I see a toothed face appear. It's heading for Sasori, and whilst it won't hurt him, there's a chance it would pierce his core or trap him. He notices a second too late, and there is no time for him to move. Luckily for him, I reacted the second I recognised the danger. I throw myself into the air and place myself between the thing and Sasori and stretch out my arms. The thing hits me and the teeth gouge into the wood, the sheer force throws me backwards and I collide with Sasori. We hit the wall and are pinned there, my back against his chest.

"I'm...sorry." I say, Struggling helplessly and weakly against what restrains me, "I didn't stop it." Sasori's head falls forward onto my shoulder, but he says nothing. I turn and look at him, and see his eyes are hollow and dead. My chest freezes, what's happened to him? His core hasn't been damaged, has it? I turn to look at it, but there is just an empty space there, the core is gone. His body is limp, I see the hundred puppets have all collapsed to the floor and Sakura and Chiyo are staring at us, at the empty shell behind him. And behind them, slowly getting to his feet, it another puppet that looks like Sasori. With the core in the center of his chest. He holds out a Katana dripping with poison, and goes for Chiyo...


	29. The Longest Sleep

Chapter 29

The Longest Sleep 

Finale

Sasori goes for Chiyo, the Katana swings back and is about to get her. She notices too late and there's nothing she can do. But Sakura copies my act of self sacrifce and gets in the way. But unlike me, she will die from her poor jugdement. Even trapped back here, I am glad Sakura will die here and now, so Sasori can get to Chiyo afterwards. Then Sasori can free me and we can go, I'll repair myself and we will live together forever. The katana goes straight into her stomach, and she grunts in pain. Chiyo gasps,

"Sakura!" But there's nothing she can do apart from watch her die and know that she is next. But Sakura isn't finished yet, she grabs the blade to prevent Sasori from pulling it back out. Then the wound around the blade begins to glow green with chakra. She's healing the wound... With the blade still inside her?! I strain against the thing trapping me, hoping to push it away so I can go to Sasori. Sasori's eyebrows raise at her and he says something, but I'm too far away to hear it. Then he steps back, and the arm holding the katana comes apart, leaving the weapon inside Sakura and a new blade attatched to the elbow. He runs for her, intending to finish her off quickly. But then I see two puppets, the mother and the father, with katanas in their hands. I suddenly know what is going to happen next, I throw myself against the thing that traps me, trying to tear free.

"Sasori! No!" I scream, tearing an arm free and reaching for him.

Time slows to a heartbeat, Sasori looks up and meets my eyes. Once more, the two of us are locked in a heartbeat. Then time seems to crash down and shatter, and the two other puppets have crossed swords, and gone right through his core. Poison flows through and drips from his chest. I scream pure grief and disbelief, and manage to tear free from the thing in my red rage. I hit the floor hard, and the wood from my chest cracks, but it holds. I run to Sasori's side, Sakura and Chiyo both let me past, and say nothing. I stop in front of him, he stands in front of me with wide eyes.

"Sasori... Sasori!" I say, taking hold of his shoulders.

"Please don't die! I'm begging you not to die." He shakes his head, and poison pulses from the core. "Don't leave me." I say, more quietly this time. "If you go... We'll both break." He reaches out his remaining hand and places it against my cheek,

"There's nothing I can do now. This is unfixable, I'll be dead in a few minutes." I take his hand in both of mine, trying to hold on to him, to hold on to his life.

"I'm so sorry. I failed you... I was always supposed to stay by your side, and protect you. Sasori Senpai, I'm sorry." He stares into my eyes, right at my soul that isn't there.

"You've more than fuliflled your purpose. You were by my side back in the village, and then spent eighteen years looking for me. You've done more than anyone should have to..." Then his eyes dull, and he just utters the words, "I love...you." And his eyelids drop and his eyes close, and he falls onto his back. Facing the sky.

"Sasori... I love you too." I say, and sink to my knees, I dig my fingers into the dirt. He's gone, he's dead.

I feel like I've hit a wall, my breath is literally taken away, and it feels like cold hands have torn my spirit right out. Before, I never felt much like a puppet, I felt like I had a meaning. I flash back on memories of us two, meeting for the first time. Making puppets, that first fight with him, when we went to the festival. And our reunion after eighteen years. I never felt so alive as when I was with Sasori. But I'm so empty now, hollow and alone. I feel a hand on my shoulder, it is Chiyo. I whirl around and hit her on the cheek with all the strength I can muster. Then I stand up, fire in my eyes. She holds up her hands.

"I can help you." She says, calmly. White hot rage fills me and I yell,

"You killed him! You can't help me." I close my eyes and scream out, clenching my fists and closing my eyes, "Just go die! Go burn in a steel drum on the other side of the forest! Commit suicide with your own Jutsu." I glare at her. Her eyes have widened and she steps back.

"I can help you... I can end your life." She says, as calmly as before. My head shoots up and I stare at her,

"If you're lying..."

"I'm not." She says curtly. "You were made using the life of another woman. I can extract that life from you. I can end it all."

I know immeadiatley I'll accept her offer. I remember my own words from my first day of existance...

_But…I need. A reason…to exist…Or I may As well…be…dead._

I may as well be dead now. The reason for my existance was Sasori. But now, he's gone.

I raise my head defiantley, detirmined to show pride at the end of all things.

"I... Accept. Please, Lady Chiyo, Kill me." She says nothing, just nods. Then places her hand on my head. A cold feeling washes over me and I fall next to Sasori, rapidly losing all sense of control in my body. The numbness is taking me over. I roll onto my back and look over at Sasori. He looks peaceful in death, as if he could wake any second. But he won't, he's in the longest sleep of all. I reach out my hand, reaching for his. Trying to hold him as I fade away. But I lose all movement and my hand collapses centimetres from his own, I'll never touch him on this world again. My vision blurs and colours swirl together, then the darkness takes me. My final thought is of Sasori's face, the time he left me at the sand village. The moon and starlight reflecting off of his tear streaked face. Then his heartbreaking smile and the words.

_I love you._

Then I simply think no more.


	30. Epilogue

Sasori's Beauty

The blonde walked across the water, using chakra to stay on the surface. He was looking, looking for Master Sasori, and also for Suji… He had heard the old hag say that he was dead, but she had made no mention of Suji. He was clinging on to the faint hope that she would still be there, waiting. He curled his hands into fists. Luckily, Kakazu had been able to sew his arm back on, and give him a new one. He glanced up at the sky, and saw that stars were beginning to shine.

The moon was full, and this made him feel constricted. The moon had been full on the night he had kissed her… He shook his head, determined not to dwell on that now. If she was still there, he promised himself he would take her with him and be her partner again.

They could just go back to the way things were…

They could still be friends…

Suji couldn't die. He told himself that, over and over. She wasn't like Sasori, she didn't have a core that needed to be destroyed. They didn't know how to kill her, so surely… Surely she would be ok. Naïve thoughts like that might tempt fate, but he thought it anyway. He reached the cave where the battle had been staged, and was shocked. The whole place had collapsed, creating a large bowl shape that opened up to the sky. Whether this was because of the pink haired girls strength, or Sasori's own puppets, he would never know.

Even in the dark, he could see shapes everywhere. They were all similar looking puppets, wearing red cloaks. There were a lot of them, but none resembled either of the puppets he wished to find. He walked in, light on his feet and treading carefully through the wreckage. His vision swung both right and left as he desperately searched for them. He was beginning to feel a chill, if she was here, she hadn't shown herself.

"Suji…" He called out, but there was no answer. Then he stumbled, tripping on a single wooden arm. As he regained his balance, his gaze fell across three different puppets on the ground. Two were unrecognisable, a woman and a man holding swords, but it was what they had attacked that stopped him. It was Sasori, Deidara walked over, but the body was just an empty shell. The two swords had gone right through his core and killed him, it was over. So much for immortality.

Then he picked out a fourth shape in the shadows. But this one was smaller, more… _Feminine. _

"No…" He said, the syllable dying on his lips, his voice was hollow. He jolted to the side of the puppet, and almost cried out in despair. It was the puppet of a girl, short, with long brown hair and wearing a flowing dress. The dress was pulled away from her left shoulder, and it exposed a red stamp of a scorpion. Sasori's mark, the one he put on his puppets.

"Suji… No. Please." His voice was merely a whisper. Tears weren't falling, but were threatening to spill over. Then he saw it, her hand was reaching out for something. Her fingers were very nearly touching Sasori's hand, but had fallen short by a few centimetres. The tears did fall then, but they were silent. They fell onto the ground, and he did nothing to stop them.

Instead, he rolled her over and took her into his arms, praying she wasn't dead.

_We didn't know how to kill her…_

_She had no weak spot…_

_She couldn't have…_

But her body was lifeless, and her head fell back. The movement caused her eyes to open and for a fleeting second, he thought she had come back to him. But it was a foolish thought that died before it was fully formed. Her eyes didn't shine blue like they had before, they were just dull and meaningless. The realisation that she wasn't coming back hit him like a brick wall, and one strangled sob came from him. He stayed like that for a while, cradling the empty body long into the night. Until the suns rays began to illuminate the dark. Then he made a decision, he couldn't leave what was left of her here. She was Sasori's beauty, and beauty for him was eternal.

He picked up the body, and carried it to the far side of the area that had once been the cave. He laid it down, and it leaned against the rocks. She looked peaceful, like she could wake any second. But she wouldn't.

Sasori's beauty had to be eternal, so he would carry her image until he died. He would save her from rotting and decaying, it was the best he could do. He put his hands into the bags on each side of his waist, each one contained his detonating clay. He used the mouths on his hands to shape it and mould chakra into it. Then he drew his hands out and held them out, palm up. His clay creations flew from the mouths. Two white butterflies, they weaved through the air softly. He retreated, and sent them to her. One landed on the left of her chest, above where her heart would be. The other landed on her shoulder, and before anything else could happen…

An explosion.

Suji was destroyed right then, no part of her left. In this way, her life had been fleeting and transient. It was his art… His beauty.

But the everlasting images of her would remain, she would never be forgotten by him. She would never be left to rot or fade. That was Sasori's art.

That was Sasori's beauty.


End file.
